[Mr70]

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- A truck driver has disappeared with the 3.6 million nickels he was hauling to the Federal Reserve Bank in New Orleans, police said Friday.

Angel Ricardo Mendoza, 43, picked up the coins, worth $180,000, December 17 from the Federal Reserve in New Jersey and was supposed to haul the cargo -- weighing 45,000 pounds -- to New Orleans for a trucking company subcontracted by the Federal Reserve, police said.

On December 21, Mendoza's empty truck and trailer turned up at a truck stop in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Miami-Dade police, the FBI and the Federal Reserve police are investigating.

"We are concerned for his safety because he's missing," Miami-Dade Detective Randy Rossman said. "We suspect foul play. We are concerned and we are still investigating."

Mendoza lives in Miami-Dade County but has no family in the area. Police said he has a wife in Cuba.