British collector finds $1.4M gold stash in ex-Iraqi tank

April 13 (UPI) -- A British man who buys and restores old tanks made a surprising discovery in a former Iraqi Army tank -- five gold bars worth about $1.4 million.

Nick Mead, a collector and owner of Tanks A Lot, a tank restoration business, said he recently saw the Chinese Type 69 tank listed on eBay and he was able to barter it for a retired British Army truck and Abbot self-propelled howitzer.

The Chinese Type 69, modeled after the Russian T-54 sold from 1959-1968, were produced in bulk and sold to the Iraqi Army during the Gulf War.

Todd Chamberlain, one of Mead's mechanics, was working on the restoration when he found evidence that one of the fuel tanks might be filled with guns, a common discovery with retired military tanks.

Mead joined Chamberlain and started filming, a practice he said is common when restorers think they might find illegal guns and want to make sure they have evidence of the discovery to show police.

The video, posted to YouTube, shows the restorers reaching into the fuel tank and pulling out the foreign objects, which turn out to be five gold bars weighing a total of about 70 pounds -- $1.4 million in gold.

Mead said the gold, which may have been stolen by the Iraqi Army during the invasion of Kuwait and forgotten inside the tank, was turned over to police. It's not yet clear what will eventually become of the discovery.