BUENOS AIRES // Argentine authorities have arrested two Paraguayans who tried to cross the border with a 19th-century gold ingot worth more than US$2 million, officials said Monday.
The ingot, which has been confiscated by Argentina’s tax authorities, weighed 25 kilograms and was stamped with the inscription “Central Bank of Paraguay — 1824.”
It is estimated to be worth US$2.27m (Dh8.33m) and may also be historically significant, said the Federal Public Revenue Administration (AFIP) in Buenos Aires.
The two Paraguayan men, who reside in Argentina, were transporting the ingot in a lorry across the bridge between the Argentine city of Posadas and Encarnacion in Paraguay when customs officers stopped them for a routine search.
They grew suspicious when the men became nervous, AFIP said in a statement. Using a scanner, they found the ingot hidden beneath a false floor under the passenger seat.
One of the men told authorities they had bought the ingot from a group of indigenous people for 250 million Paraguayan guarani, or about US$50,000, AFIP said.
Officials also seized about a kilogram of silver.
AFIP said it had informed the Paraguayan central bank and the embassy in Buenos Aires.
Paraguay, which gained independence from Spain in 1811, fought Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay from 1864 to 1870 in the conflict known as the War of the Triple Alliance.
Wealthy families in the war’s path often buried their valuables, planning to recover them after the conflict.
About 85 per cent of Paraguay’s men died in the war. Today, the landlocked country is one of the poorest in South America.
* Agence France-Presse
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)