WARSAW, N.Y. — The Wyoming County Sheriff's Office discovered a gold mine during a traffic stop last month.
A Wyoming County Sheriff's Deputy pulled over a vehicle July 25 on Route 20A near Toolhouse Road in the Town of Warsaw for a traffic stop.
While interviewing the driver, the deputy believed that a possible crime was being committed. Investigators say the driver consented a search of the vehicle and more than $208,000 worth of gold bars were found inside a backpack on the front seat.
In the back of the vehicle, deputies found multiple opened UPS packages addressed to an elderly man in Orchard Park.
The driver of the vehicle, Jaspreet Singh, 28, of Queens, denied ownership of the gold bars.
The Wyoming County Sheriff's Office worked with Orchard Park Police and discovered the elderly person from Orchard Park was the victim of an elder fraud scheme.
According to police, the victim had been contacted by a person claiming to be a U.S. Marshal and demanded payment to avoid arrest. The victim was allegedly told a "marshal' would come to the victim's residence and the victim was to place the gold bars in the rear seat of the courier's vehicle.
The traffic stop happened one hour after the exchange.
The stolen gold bars will eventually be returned to their rightful owner at a later date.
Singh has been released pending further investigation.
