In an unusual seizure, Income Tax authorities recovered what appeared to be U.S. treasury bonds worth $5 billion from the residence-cum-office of an individual on the Dharapuram-Palani main road a couple of days ago, official sources said.

IT officials from Chennai and Coimbatore conducted the raids, including a search of one place in Chennai on Monday, and seized five international bills of exchange worth $1 billion each.

The sources did not want to describe them as U.S. government securities until their authenticity was established. A source in Chennai said Rs. 1 crore cash was also seized.