Croatian beach cleaner finds NBA star Goran Dragić's wallet, leading to surprise reward

Marin Pirija, a seasonal worker for the utility company "Murtela," became a local sensation in Murter, Croatia, after finding a wallet on Slanica beach. The wallet belonged to Slovenian NBA star Goran Dragić, a former player for the Miami Heat.

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It was around 6:30 in the morning. I was collecting trash from Slanica towards Podrače, when I saw a wallet left on the beach near the restaurant Morski pas.

Pirija discovered the wallet around 6:30 a.m. while collecting trash. Inside, he found multiple currencies, identification cards, a passport, and bank cards. He promptly handed the wallet over to his employer at the end of his shift.

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I looked inside, saw three or four currencies, an ID card, several bank cards, a passport, a health insurance card, an organ donor card… I put it in my pocket and continued cleaning the beach, then at the end of the shift, I handed the wallet over to the management of the utility company.

The "Murtela" employees contacted the Slovenian basketball federation, which provided Dragić's phone number. After calling him, they successfully returned the wallet. Pirija was surprised when Dragić left an envelope with a generous cash reward and his phone number, expressing a desire to meet the honest finder.

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Goran left an envelope for me, in which he put money as a reward, his phone number, and a message that he wanted to meet me.

Pirija, along with his wife and two sons, met with Dragić. The NBA player was reportedly delighted to find such an honest person. He thanked Pirija repeatedly, acknowledging the potential trouble he could have faced as a foreigner without his documents or money. Dragić also signed a basketball for Pirija's son and provided other autographs.

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He was thanking me and repeating that everything was in the wallet. He imagined what kind of trouble he could have gotten into as a foreigner without any documents, without money, cards…