Libertytree
20th February 2011, 05:50 PM
More evidence to keep your mouth shut.
http://www.theprovince.com/cars/Chilliwack+shaken+after+home+invaders+take+silver/4296387/story.html
A Chilliwack man says he is traumatized after he was punched, stabbed and tied up by home-invading thieves who made off with his life savings in silver bars.
The two thugs, wearing what he described as fake police uniforms, unloaded a vault and spirited away with $750,000 in silver the man had bought as an investment last year.
The 52-year-old victim, still shaking after the robbery at his Imperial Street home on Feb. 9, now wonders who among his friends or acquaintances is behind the brazen midday theft.
“Obviously some friend, or friend of a friend, or friend of a family member was told and they leaked it to the wrong people,” he said.
Due to the circumstances, the man’s name is being withheld by The Province.
The home invaders initially told the victim they were investigating a domestic assault, then said they were looking for methamphetamine in his vault. One carried a gun.
After punching him hard in the face and stabbing him with a kitchen knife, they forced him into providing the combination for his vault. That vault, about one metre deep and another metre wide, was stacked with what Chilliwack police describe as “several thousand ounces” of silver.
“It’s the bulk of my life savings,” said the man.
Silver has almost doubled in price in the last year, from $17 per ounce to just above $30.
“When I bought it in January a year ago some people said. ‘You are crazy,’” he said. “It turns out that it really was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.”
The man, a former professional, wouldn’t say how much he had paid for the bullion, though $750,000 in silver bullion was worth about $415,500 this time last year.
A bank refused to store the silver, he said, because it was too big.
“You could put $10 million in gold in a safe-deposit box, but silver is very bulky,” he said. “There’s no way that a bank would store that bulk.”
He didn’t insure the silver, he said, because the price to do so was astronomical.
Eddy Siu, a trader at Vancouver Bullion & Currency Exchange, said it’s not uncommon for people to stash investments in silver in their houses, storage units or warehouses due to its bulk. “It does happen,” he said.
Chilliwack RCMP Const. Tracy Wolbeck said police hope someone will come forward with tips.
“We are hopeful that given the time of day, someone saw something and can give us some helpful information,” Wolbeck said.
She said it’s likely the silver will be sold through precious metal dealers and converted to cash.
“I don’t know what quantity they would be able to off-load at a time but they do have shops and business in Vancouver that will buy it,” Wolbeck said.
The suspects are white, with a medium build, in their early 30s, with dark hair and some facial hair. They may have been in a white sedan, possibly a Toyota Camry or Pontiac G6.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/cars/Chilliwack+shaken+after+home+invaders+take+silver/4296387/story.html#ixzz1EYAYql31
http://www.theprovince.com/cars/Chilliwack+shaken+after+home+invaders+take+silver/4296387/story.html
A Chilliwack man says he is traumatized after he was punched, stabbed and tied up by home-invading thieves who made off with his life savings in silver bars.
The two thugs, wearing what he described as fake police uniforms, unloaded a vault and spirited away with $750,000 in silver the man had bought as an investment last year.
The 52-year-old victim, still shaking after the robbery at his Imperial Street home on Feb. 9, now wonders who among his friends or acquaintances is behind the brazen midday theft.
“Obviously some friend, or friend of a friend, or friend of a family member was told and they leaked it to the wrong people,” he said.
Due to the circumstances, the man’s name is being withheld by The Province.
The home invaders initially told the victim they were investigating a domestic assault, then said they were looking for methamphetamine in his vault. One carried a gun.
After punching him hard in the face and stabbing him with a kitchen knife, they forced him into providing the combination for his vault. That vault, about one metre deep and another metre wide, was stacked with what Chilliwack police describe as “several thousand ounces” of silver.
“It’s the bulk of my life savings,” said the man.
Silver has almost doubled in price in the last year, from $17 per ounce to just above $30.
“When I bought it in January a year ago some people said. ‘You are crazy,’” he said. “It turns out that it really was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.”
The man, a former professional, wouldn’t say how much he had paid for the bullion, though $750,000 in silver bullion was worth about $415,500 this time last year.
A bank refused to store the silver, he said, because it was too big.
“You could put $10 million in gold in a safe-deposit box, but silver is very bulky,” he said. “There’s no way that a bank would store that bulk.”
He didn’t insure the silver, he said, because the price to do so was astronomical.
Eddy Siu, a trader at Vancouver Bullion & Currency Exchange, said it’s not uncommon for people to stash investments in silver in their houses, storage units or warehouses due to its bulk. “It does happen,” he said.
Chilliwack RCMP Const. Tracy Wolbeck said police hope someone will come forward with tips.
“We are hopeful that given the time of day, someone saw something and can give us some helpful information,” Wolbeck said.
She said it’s likely the silver will be sold through precious metal dealers and converted to cash.
“I don’t know what quantity they would be able to off-load at a time but they do have shops and business in Vancouver that will buy it,” Wolbeck said.
The suspects are white, with a medium build, in their early 30s, with dark hair and some facial hair. They may have been in a white sedan, possibly a Toyota Camry or Pontiac G6.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/cars/Chilliwack+shaken+after+home+invaders+take+silver/4296387/story.html#ixzz1EYAYql31