Treasure scam went pear-shaped

A golden Buddha and bars of gold were said to be buried in the foundations of an old house. But the Chinese man who received a phone call about this treasure trove smelled a rat.

The caller had told him that he had been working on a construction site when he found the century-old loot.

The caller agreed to meet the Chinese man at Emperors Palace, a casino and entertainment complex in Ekurhuleni.

With the assistance of the police's organised crime unit, a sting was set up, said Anderson Lee, chairman of the Chinese community policing forum.

With the police watching two men arrived at the casino to make the deal - cash in exchange for the long-hidden gold - but realised something was wrong.

"They said they had to go and fetch something and didn't come back," said Lee.