BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Thieves broke into a safe and robbed an Australian veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq who invested his savings in gold and silver, police said.
Cpl. Christopher Lunt, who lives in the Brisbane suburb of Upper Kedron, said the thieves made off with $200,000 Australian ($178,000 U.S.) in gold and silver bullion and coins, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
He said he returned early Wednesday from celebrating New Year's Eve to find his safe had been broken open.
The thieves apparently used a wheeled trash container or wheelie bin to move the gold and silver to a vehicle.
"I've been investing in gold and silver for the last five years now. I had a bit saved up," Lunt told ABC. "It's just gut-wrenching for the first day of the year to come home to that. Basically, the life savings is just gone."
Lunt said he had planned to move the gold and silver to a safe deposit box in the next few days.
