Treasure Hunters on the Prowl for Colombian Drug Lord Pablo Escobar's Hidden Wealth in Miami
Professional treasure hunters are hoping to find loot hidden somewhere in Pablo Escobar’s former mansion in Miami.
Fox News Latino revealed that the subsequent owners of the Miami mansion hired professional treasure hunters to go through the lot, which spans 7,336 square feet. The objective is to find gold, cash and other items belonging to the late Colombian drug lord that may have been secretly tucked away. Professionals have been combing the area with metal detectors and various other tools before the owners tear down the place.
“We want to close a very dark chapter in the history of Miami. We want to erase those memories and create something new and inspiring,” Jennifer Valoppi, the current owner of the mansion with her husband, businessman Christian de Berdouare, told Miami Herald.
According to the treasure hunters, there were several holes in the walls, most likely created by people who were also looking for cash and other valuables.
The mansion on Biscayne Bay was originally built in1948. It has four bedrooms, six bathrooms, a marina, a pool and a garage. In 1980, the Colombian drug lord bought the mansion for $762,500 and put his own name on the document. In 1990, Roger Schindler, a lawyer, bought the property from the government for $915,000, but it was abandoned for several years after a fire.
The new owners bought the property in 2014 for $9.65 million. They plan to raze the whole place, leaving only one banyan tree in the aftermath, Curbed reported. The new owners are still uncertain whether they will sell the property or move into it after the house is built. The future mansion is valued at $21 million.
De Berdouares said that they own three properties on the same street. They might move into Escobar’s former residence if they manage to sell the others.
It is still unknown whether Escobar actually lived in or visited the mansion. According to Jim Shedd, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, the place was likely used by his hit men as a hideout and doubled as a landing destination for tons of cocaine forwarded from Colombia to the US during the drug lord’s reign. The place was seized by authorities in 1987.
Daily Mail wrote that Escobar was the richest drug lord in criminal history. He amassed around $30 billion during the peak of his cartel, becoming one of the richest people in the world at the time.
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