The Tomoyuki Yamashita Gold Mine in the Philippines is one of the world's most famous lost treasures. During World War II, the Japanese military plundered large amounts of gold and silver from across Southeast Asia and stored them in the Philippines.
On the eve of Japan's defeat, Yamashita Tomoyuki buried the gold in various locations in the Philippines. To ensure secrecy, the tunnel entrance was blown up after the burial to cover it up.
Japan surrendered, Yamashita Tomoyuki was hanged by the Allies. Some of the gold was confiscated by the American army, but most of the rest was buried deep underground.
Rogelio Roxas is a locksmith and former soldier in the Philippine Army. The story begins when he accidentally obtains invaluable information about the whereabouts of General Yamashita Tomoyuki's gold in the Philippines.
As soon as he learned of the preliminary location, Rogelio Roxas applied for permission to excavate the treasure, which was approved by Pio Marcos. He quickly organized everyone to start digging tirelessly.
After about seven months of excavation, a network of tunnels was discovered around January 1971. They found electric wires, radios, bayonets, rifles and the skeleton of a man wearing a Japanese uniform. These were the first clues that made them more confident about finding General Yamashita Tomoyuki's treasure.
After weeks of digging, workers found a golden Buddha statue, about 3 feet tall (about 0.9m), weighing about a ton.
In addition to the golden Buddha statue, Rogelio Roxas also saw a large number of neatly arranged boxes. He opened them and discovered 24 gold bars.
Rogelio Roxas - the successful treasure hunter was very excited. He returned home with the Buddha statue and gold bars. He also discovered the movable head of the golden Buddha statue, inside which were hidden many uncut diamonds.
Rogelio Roxas took a picture with the Buddha statue to prove that he was the one who found the treasure because according to Philippine law at that time, he would receive a portion of the found property.
Early in the morning of April 5, 1971, a group of armed soldiers broke into Rogelio Roxas's house, beat him and his family, and took away a golden Buddha statue and 17 gold bars (Roxas had sold 7 gold bars earlier). Rogelio Roxas was arrested and imprisoned.
The soldiers tortured him brutally to get him to reveal the secret of the treasure. He was not released until 1974. For the next twelve years, locksmith Rogelio Roxas lived in silence.
In February 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown and went into exile in Hawaii, USA. At this time, Rogelio Roxas filed a lawsuit against the former president for stealing his treasure. A few years later, Rogelio Roxas died while the lawsuit was still pending.
In 1996, the Honolulu court opened a trial, forcing former President Marcos' wife to compensate Rogelio Roxas 22 billion USD.
Some researchers believe that most of the “Gold of General Yamashita Tomoyuki” is still hidden deep in the Philippines, scattered in about 172 locations, including about 18 golden Buddha statues. All are still a mystery in the beautiful country of the Philippines.
Thu Hien (Source: Sohu)
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