Frankfurt police have praised the actions of a man who thought he stumbled across the fortune of a lifetime and still turned it over to the authorities.

In the early hours of Monday morning, a 56-year-old bakery worker came across an astonishing find, police said in a statement on Tuesday, March 13.

Sitting in a food waste bin, the man found multiple bundles of €500 bills that were pristinely packaged and bundled inside a suitcase. The bills totalled €8 million.

Without realizing that his pile of cash was actually a pile of worthless play money, the bakery worker brought the cash to the nearest police station.

“There’s never been so much cash on a Frankfurt Police precinct counter,” Police said in a statement, adding that “the colleagues who were present were visibly surprised.”

Upon closer inspection, authorities determined that the money was fake and used as part of a game — but they did not specify which game.

Frankfurt Police thanked the man for turning in the cash, saying that he “showed absolutely model behaviour” that should set an example for others to follow.

The “fake money” is now being held in evidence and will likely later be burned. …

• culled from African Courier