Dlrs 1.5 million in gold missing from Air France

The Air France flight arrived from Paris at about 1 p.m. Thursday. Bound for a refinery in Utah, the gold was shipped in five metal boxes from the west African nation of Benin. Only three boxes were found in the Air France terminal, and those were not the same boxes used initially to ship the gold, the Chicago Police Department said. "The boxes were opened by the FBI and U.S. Customs and they found some wood carvings and other scrap," said Chicago Police Sgt. Robert Cargie.

Billing records show the gold was originally shipped via Air Afrique on Oct. 23 from the coastal town of Cotonou, Benin. The flight stopped in Lagos, Nigeria before heading north to Paris. The shipment of gold - about 550 pounds (248 kilograms) - remained in Paris for two days before being loaded onto a non-stop Air France flight for Chicago, according to the FBI. It was unclear whether the gold was ore or in another raw form. No arrests have been made in the case, the FBI said.

(AP)