A German tourist managed to lose a bag containing tens of thousands in Euro banknotes as he travelled from his homeland to Thailand but thankfully the hapless traveller was reunited with the cash weeks later when he transited through Dubai International Airport (DXB) weeks later.
Siegfried Tellbach passed through DXB on his way to Thailand but had no idea that he had lost a small bag containing €33,600 (approx US$38,000) until he got to his hotel and realised he no longer had the bag.
Unfortunately, Tellbach had no idea where or when he had misplaced the bag so he had to come to terms with the fact that the cash was probably gone forever. What he didn’t realise though was that the bag had been handed into the Lost & Found at Dubai airport without a single banknote removed.
Dubai police found identification documents in the bag but they didn’t know where Tellbach was staying in Thailand. But after approaching Tellbach’s airline they did know that he was due to transit through Dubai airport on his way home.
Dubai police officers managed to track Tellbach down during his return journey to Germany and reunited him with the cash.
“He did not imagine that he would find the money again as simple as that,” Brigadier Hamouda Belsuwaida Al Ameri, acting director of the General Department of Airports Security told the Khaleej Times.
Of all the places in the world to lose such a large sum of cash, Dubai International Airport is probably the place to do it if you want to stand any chance of getting it back.
Not to be cynical, but you have to wonder why a old white guy needs that kind of dough in Thailand. Maybe he’s just a cash and carry kind of guy, or maybe he was interested in certain types of business that only accept cash.