Beachgoers stunned as bags packed with £600,000 in cash wash up on holiday island shore

THIS is the shocking moment stunned beachgoers discovered £600,000 in cash washed up on the shore of a holiday island. Extraordinary footage shows holidaymakers lifting the lid of a shopping bag to reveal bundles of banknotes stacked inside. Thousands of pounds washed up on a beach in Sicily Credit: CEN Bags of cash were thrown from a stranded speedboat Credit: CEN One curious onlooker even pulls out a couple of wads of cash before quickly putting them back. The remarkable discovery was made at Casuzze, a seaside resort on Sicily’s southern coast. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Beachgoers gathered around several bags stuffed with cash after they were allegedly thrown into the sea from a stranded speedboat. Italian investigators said the 18ft vessel had been travelling from Malta when it reportedly suffered engine trouble. One person pulled out a stack of cash before putting it back Credit: CEN Police are now investigating whether the cash is linked to criminal activity Credit: CEN After running out of fuel, it drifted towards the shoreline carrying three men and a boy believed to be about 13-years-old. According to investigators, three of the four people on board jumped into the water as the boat continued drifting towards the beach. As officers closed in on the vessel, they claim the only person left aboard was seen throwing sealed bags into the sea. The current carried several of the floating bags ashore, where beachgoers helped retrieve them. Most read in The Sun Authorities recovered almost all of the money, which is estimated to total between £500,000 and £600,000. The four occupants were taken in for questioning, while the speedboat was towed to port for forensic examination. Ragusa Police Commissioner Salvatore Fazzino said the vessel was intercepted only because of its unexpected mechanical failure. He said: “An engine failure stopped the boat. “If everything had gone smoothly, we would not have intercepted it.” Fazzino added that the Coast Guard is believed to have recovered all of the cash. Investigators have since revealed the boat was being driven by a man of Maltese origin. The identities of the other three occupants remain unknown. They are now trying to establish where the money came from and why such a large amount of cash was being transported on the route between Malta and Sicily. Authorities are examining several possibilities, including money laundering, drug-related payments, currency smuggling and counterfeit banknotes. Fazzino said: “We need to understand who the person is, where it came from, and reconstruct the movements.” The four people have since been released pending further investigation and remain on police bail. Comment now