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Man leaves $1.28 million dollars at Sydney restaurant

2011-11-23 06:13:52

By Eric Pfeiffer | The Sideshow

Australian police are looking for a good explanation of why someone would walk into a Sydney eatery, exit in a seeming panic--and leave a suitcase containing more than a million dollars behind.

The seemingly inadvertent money drop occurred at an Italian bistro named Caf Marco. On Tuesday morning a causally dressed man entered the establishment, and didn't really settle into the Caf Marco experience before heading back out the door--minus the suitcase "full of money."

Investigating officers in Sydney report that the luggage in question contained "a significant amount of cash"--roughly $1.28 million in $50 bills. However, police have not yet arrived at a full estimate of the suitcase's cash content--for the simple reason that they're still counting it.

Detective Inspector Ian Pryde told reporters that witnesses described the man as Asian, and his age around 30. He was wearing surfing shorts and a wrestling singlet when he walked into the caf . Witnesses reportedly told the cops that the man appeared "to get spooked" and left without the money.

At first, the two owners of the caf thought the suitcase was a bomb and moved it out of the way of customers until the police arrived. Police say they now have in custody a 49-year-old man fitting the general description--and that they're preparing to question him about the case of the abandoned cash.