More than 1,500 gold coins stolen from open vault at Mexico's mint
Gunmen raided Mexico's federal mint headquarters in Mexico City and looted valuable items from a vault Tuesday, including gold coins that were worth millions of dollars, authorities said.
City Public Security Secretary Jesús Orta Martínez told news station Telediario that three armed men disarmed security guards at the offices and "went straight to the vault, which was open."
The official said the gunmen got away with gold coins, commemorative watches and other valuables. He didn't put a value on the loss, but local media said the stolen items were worth up to 50 million pesos, or $2.5 million. The value of the haul could be even greater.
Reuters reported one of the robbers was able to fill his backpack with approximately 1,567 gold coins after breaking into the “Casa de Moneda” branch.
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According to the Mexican bank Banorte, the coins have a face value of 50 pesos but trade for about 37,000 pesos a piece, which translates to more than $1,800 each.
A statement by from Mexico City’s Secretariat of Public Security said that security protocols weren’t followed at the time of the incident and investigators have taken in staff and security for questions, according to CNN.
Mexico's old 50-peso gold coins were first minted in 1921 to commemorate the first 100 years of independence and are now bought and sold by investors as their value fluctuates.
Authorities said they have security footage showing the robbers.
Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Robbers steal gold coins in $2.5 million robbery at Mexico's mint
