Bolivia Firm Offers $25K Reward in Florida Gold Theft

A Bolivian company is offering a $25,000 reward for the return of 110 pounds of gold flakes stolen last fall in South Florida.

An employee of the Quri Wasi export company was robbed in October as he was transporting the gold to an Opa-Locka refinery. The gold is worth an estimated $2.8 million.

Police say the alleged mastermind is 34-year-old Raonel Valdez, who is now a fugitive. Valdez was free on $75,000 bail, but authorities recently lost track of the GPS ankle monitor he was wearing.

Valdez’s attorney says he does not know his client’s whereabouts.

Valdez was wearing a GPS ankle monitor from an unrelated charge when the gold theft occurred. Police say GPS evidence from that device placed him at the robbery scene.