Myanmar police hunt scavengers who found huge jade boulder

Myanmar is the source of nearly all of the world's finest jadeite.-AFP

Yangon (AFP) - Police are hunting five gem scavengers who discovered a huge jade boulder at a mine in northern Myanmar after a senior regulatory official accused them of leading an attempt to steal it.

The prospectors found the 8.7 ton block of the precious stone last week in a mine at Hpakant in Kachin State, where they normally work at night picking through the scraps left by the owners.