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LAX cargo handlers arrested for stealing gold from shipment: prosecutors

Two men were arrested this week for allegedly stealing four gold bars from a shipment at general

Marlon Moody and Brian Benson, both of los-angeles” target=”_blank”>Los Angeles<them with conspiracy and theft of interstate and foreign shipment. 

Federal prosecutors said Moody and Benson were employees of a private airline cargo-handling company at LAX that handled a shipment of 2,000 gold bars that arrived on a Singapore Airlines flight a>on April 22, 2020.<

Each bar in the shipment weighs about 2 pounds and is worth $56,000, according to prosecutors.

Two men were arrested this week for allegedly stealing four gold bars from a shipment at Los Angeles International Airport. Each gold bar weighs about 2 pounds and is worth about $56,000. (iStock)

Two men were arrested this week for allegedly stealing four gold bars from a shipment at Los Angeles International Airport. Each gold bar weighs about 2 pounds and is worth about $56,000. (iStock)

A Canadian bank had arranged to ship the gold from Australia to New York, but it stopped for a layover in Los Angeles. According to prosecutors, most of the shipment was “offloaded and secured,” but one box of 25 gold bars went missing.

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Prosecutors allege that Moody found that missing box the next morning and allegedly put it on a belt loader. He then reportedly drove the vehicle to another location, where authorities allege he removed four bars from the box.

Benson arrived soon after to pick Moody up in a company van. Because other employees were in the van with them, the men reportedly texted about the gold. Later, after they left the airport, they met in a parking lot and Moody gave Benson one of the bars, prosecutors said.

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Other employees found the box with the remaining 21 gold bars on April 23, which led officials to start investigating the theft.

According to prosecutors, Moody gave one of his three gold bars to a relative on May 4 and told the person to “exchange the gold bar for a vehicle and/or money,” the indictment says. Moody allegedly buried the other two bars in his backyard.

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Federal officials said all four gold bars were recovered within two weeks.

Fox News was unable to contact Moody or Benson. The shipping company where they reportedly worked did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moody and Benson made their first court appearance in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.

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