Aussie Teen's $100,000 Catch

Fishermen net mighty haul

Take it or leave it wasn’t the question for two Australian brothers last week: that part was simple. The problem was whether too keep the money that they'd taken, or hand it in.

Whilst fishing at Turntable Creek off the East coast of Australia, the two boys discovered a package wrapped in plastic. Inside was a $100,000 bundle of cash in wads of various sizes.

In an extreme of mixed emotions, the brothers returned home along with their ‘catch’ to consult with their mother. A decision was made last week to hand over the sum of money to the police in Lismore and then seek legal advice.

“It’s a weight off their shoulders”, their mother said. As the boys in their own particular style described to the Lismore Northern Star, “We were sweet before the money and we’ll be sweet afterwards.”

High suspicions have been raised as to the potential illegal source of the large amount of cash, due to the location of the remote creek: it's situated just downstream from Nimbim, a small town notorious for its drug community.

Police cannot yet indicate if the money, so far unclaimed, could be returned to the brothers who found it. Extensive police searches have failed to find any clues.

One thing is certain – it's sparked an international debate on whether honesty as a policy actually pays off. And in this case, it could pay off big.