Raonel Valdez-Valhuerdis booking photo

Coral Gables police have arrested a suspect in the recent theft of approximately $2 million in gold from a man as he exited his apartment in the 400 block of Valencia Avenue, the Coral Gables Police Department reported Tuesday.

The victim, 51, was identified in police documents as a courier for a Bolivian gold mining company. He was about to leave the elevator on the ground floor of the building shortly before 8 a.m. on Oct.  12 when three men approached him as the doors opened, the police report stated.

One of the men, brandishing a semi-automatic handgun, entered the elevator, struck the victim with his forearm and pushed him against the back wall of the elevator.

“We only came for the gold,” the gunman said while the two accomplices grabbed two rolling suitcases containing a total of 110 pounds of gold, according to police.

Fearing for his life with a gun pointed at him, the victim offered no resistance and was unharmed. He returned to his apartment upstairs, where he had left his cellphone, and called police, according to the police report. Coral Gables detectives began investigating immediately.

On Monday, Oct. 22, detectives arrested a suspect, Raonel Valdez-Valhuerdis, 34, who was identified in a photo lineup by the victim, the press release stated. Valdez was transported to the Coral Gables Police Department for processing and then delivered to the Miami-Dade County Jail.

The suspect had already been on supervised house arrest and was wearing a GPS ankle bracelet, which confirmed his presence at the exact time and location of the theft, according to the police report.

If you have any information regarding the identity of the other two subjects, police ask you to call Crimestoppers at 305-471-TIPS. In exchange for the return of the stolen gold, the owner is offering a $15,000 reward.