BENGHAZI, Libya - A convoy of 10 vehicles that crossed into Niger was carrying money taken from a branch of the Central Bank of Libya, a spokesman for the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Tuesday.

"They took the money from the central bank in Sirte," Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, an NTC spokesman told Reuters in Benghazi. Sirte is the birthplace of fugitive strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

An NTC official earlier said a Libyan convoy of 10 vehicles carrying gold and cash crossed into Niger late on Monday, citing sources among the Tuareg people who live in the Sahara desert on both sides of the frontier.

Ghoga also confirmed the convoy had reached Niger.