01. 07. 10. - 16:00

Sniffer dogs may spoil quirky €5mn hunt

Police sniffer dogs could erase treasure hunters’ hopes to find millions of Euros at a forest in the Tyrolean Alps.

Hundreds of self-proclaimed treasure hunters from all over the world have gathered in Ebbs after it was claimed that five million Euros could be hidden in nearby woodlands.

A fraudulent former bank manager, 52, told German police his Mafia business partners took all of the customers’ money he embezzled after he was arrested eight years ago.

Detectives assigned by the defrauded DBA Bank however revealed Augustin G. went for a walk in the woodlands near the small Tyrolean town the night before he handed over mouldy and wet notes worth around 100,000 Euros.

Hopeful treasure hunters started digging up the forestry estate owned by local farmers after the DBA Bank bosses said the finder will be rewarded 660,000 Euros.

Now Austrian police dog unit boss Klaus Hölscher revealed a special canine squad would be lined up to look for the allegedly hidden money.

He told local media today (Thurs): "We work with five dogs who are able to sniff out documents and banknotes."

Hölscher explained the especially trained canines would find the money without any difficulties – even if its buried several metres in the ground.

Police have not yet announced whether they will get involved.

Legal experts meanwhile warned treasure hunters they would not be allowed to keep the millions – an appeal expected to hold back few of those already busy digging up the soil at the forest considering the promised reward.

Most Ebbs residents welcome the bizarre developments. One local said: "All hotels and pensions are fully booked and our shops made a fortune selling shovels, cold drinks and snacks over the past few days. Some of us believe the hype, others don’t, But I think many are just too lazy to dig for the money themselves."