Farmer discovered $600 million of Pablo Escobar’s money on his land

They say that money doesn't go on trees but that doesn't mean it can't be found in mysterious places.

While a man dubbed Britain's Pablo Escobar managed to build a £1 billion drug empire while working as a bus driver, the man who seemingly inspired him decided to leave a little gift for a local farmer in Colombia.

Escobar is perhaps the most famous drug lord of all time, having built the Medellín Cartel, and that unsurprisingly made him an incredibly rich man.

Most sensible folks would know better than going anywhere near Escobar's hard-earned cash but one lucky, or unlucky, farmer wasn't left with much choice after discovering $600 million on his family ranch.

Josè Mariena Cartolos was in the middle of making a trench for irrigation purposes when he discovered several contained filled to the brim with money, which might not have been the cleanest in the most literal or figurative sense.

Despite making the discovery in 2015, more than 20 years after Escobar's death, Cartolos clearly didn't want to be in debt to anyone still close to the legendary criminal, as he alerted the authorities almost immediately despite discovering over half a billion dollars.

He found containers filled to the brim (Reddit)

Unfortunately for him, and for Escobar's associates, the authorities decided to seize every penny, without leaving him anything, so he's probably kicking himself for being so honest when he could have at least got himself a new tractor.

Instead, it was spent on social and economic programs by the Colombian government, MTV Lebanon previously reported, which I suppose is a nice way to spend it too, even if Escobar might have been rolling in his grave.

Reacting on Reddit, plenty of people admitted that they might not have been so honest if they found themselves in a similar situation.

Escobar had money buried in lots of places (ILES/AFP via Getty Images)

One person on Reddit wrote: "Never would’ve said a word. Would’ve loaded that up and been gone."

Another added: "Why would he report it? I’d be living the high life right now."

A third joked: "I'd invoke the law of finders keepers."

And a fourth laughed: "Dude won the lottery and and said 'no thank you.'"

Others reckoned that Cartolos definitely did the right thing, especially as the Pablo Escobar is supposedly the rightful owner of the cash.

"Finding a stash that belongs to a cartel is a 'I'm f***ed' situation," one person commented. "The first question is: how do I get out of that alive?"

Another chimed in saying: "Any Colombian farmer would know better than to advertise this lol."

And a third pointed out: "I promise you that you would have no idea what to do with $600m in illegal cash."