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Man uses Google Maps to track down shipping containers lost at sea and then opens them to find six-figure contents
A California-based YouTuber has stumbled into a remarkable amount of money after using Google Maps to track down abandoned shipping containers.
After making the remarkable discovery, Brent Rivera and a small group of friends flew to an abandoned river whose location they have not revealed, then hired a boat to reach the offshore location they were pinned to. Although it cost $25,000 for permission to buy and inspect the lost cargo, what they found when opening the mammoth containers made it worth it, even if just for the content alone.
Brent, who has 44.4 million subscribers on YouTube alone, and a small group of friends who joined him on the adventure and filmed it for a YouTube video, struck gold when they opened one of the containers to find brand-new electronics including brand-new Nintendo Switch consoles, Apple iPads, drones and an underwater scooter. According to shipping experts, the goods inside were valued at approximately $112,000.
Expensive electronics were far from the most exciting thing Brent discovered
However, things took one bizarre turn after another when Brent and his friends discovered a collection of rubber ducks, a tactical hunting crossbow and a Mercedes jet car all in the same container. But the surprises don’t stop there.
After wrenching open one of the huge metal boxes, the group was amazed but equally terrified to find that one of them contained a live alligator.
Although the value of their loot supposedly comes in at over $112,000, the content creators have been warned that condition, age, and functionality would all affect their actual resale value, particularly if some electronics were older models.
Brent said himself in the video: “This shipping container might have been worth $112,000, but that was before it fell off a boat and flooded with water.”
Brent was most astounded by the quantity of gaming consoles he discovered, and sweetly suggested that the group planned to give some of the Nintendo Switch consoles away to subscribers rather than keep everything for themselves.
Was it worth the $25,000 gamble?
While buying access to abandoned cargo without knowing exactly what was inside was a huge risk, the YouTuber has, in theory, quadrupled his money (if all the findings sell for their market value), and made a fascinating video all about the high-stakes gamble, which now has almost 17 million views.
While contemplating whether it was a wise financial decision, Brent said early on in the video: “I think it's worth it. Worth the risk. We accepted his offer. Okay, you know what? We'll do it. Let's go.”