Winning lottery ticket worth over RM4 million found in Italian trash heap

A woman in southern Italy has miraculously recovered a winning lottery ticket worth 1 million euros (approximately $1.08 million) after it was accidentally discarded and subsequently found in a mountain of trash. The fortunate turn of events began when the woman, whose identity remains confidential, visited a local shop to check her instant lottery ticket after the draw results were announced.

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The winner always chooses the same numbers because they are related to a loved one.

According to Roberto Nicola Toscano, an administrator for the waste management company SAMB, the shop's machine displayed a message indicating the prize could not be claimed. This was because small retailers are only authorized to redeem low-value prizes. Unaware that she had actually won the jackpot, the woman, who reportedly always picks the same numbers due to their sentimental value, discarded the ticket.

Upon returning home, a family member informed her that her chosen numbers had indeed won the grand prize. The family rushed back to the shop, only to discover that the ticket had already been thrown away and the trash collected. In a state of panic, the woman contacted SAMB for assistance.

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We tracked the ticket's journey even though we didn't have much hope of finding it, as it had already been collected by the garbage truck.

Toscano explained that his company embarked on a challenging search, tracking the ticket's journey through the collected waste. Despite low expectations, they managed to identify the specific garbage truck that had collected the trash and intercepted it. The truck was then taken to a specialized facility equipped to safely handle potentially hazardous waste for the search.

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In the midst of the piles, we finally found fragments of the ticket we were looking for, and miraculously, it was still intact.

After more than a day of sifting through the refuse, workers located fragments of the sought-after ticket, which miraculously remained intact. Toscano shared that when he informed the woman the ticket had been found, she was overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry. While SAMB, a public agency, bore the initial costs, Toscano has requested the woman sign an agreement to cover the expenses incurred during the extensive operation, a request that proved to be a worthwhile gamble.

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When he informed the woman that the ticket had been found, she cried because she was so overwhelmed with emotion.