In Daring Robbery, Burglars Drill Into German Bank, Disappear With $35 Million

Berlin: In a daring heist, robbers drilled into the underground vault of a German savings bank from an adjoining parking lot and carried away cash, gold and jewellery worth an estimated 30 million euros ($35 million).

Police officials told the media said on Tuesday that the robbers broke open more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes at a Sparkasse branch in the western city of Gelsenkirchen after forcing access to the underground vault by drilling through from an adjacent parking garage.

How was the robbery executed?

The police suspect that the burglars spent a large part of the weekend inside the underground vault, systematically breaking open the boxes before escaping. The robbery came to light in the early hours of Monday after a fire alarm was went off, prompting emergency services to rush to the spot only to discover a sizeable hole leading into the vault from the parking lot.

According to witnesses several men carrying large bags were spotted in the stairwell of the parking garage between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Footage from security cameras later revealed that a black Audi RS 6 left the garage early on Monday, with masked individuals inside. The police said that the car’s licence plate had been stolen earlier from the city of Hanover.

Talking to the media, a police spokesman informed that the burglary was “very professionally executed” and compared the incident it to the Hollywood heist film Ocean’s Eleven, adding that the crime appeared to involve extensive planning and significant criminal expertise.

How much money was stolen?

While the police estimated losses based on an average insured value of 10,000 euros per safe deposit box, several victims have suffered losses far exceeding their insurance coverage. On Tuesday, hundreds of customers gathered outside the bank seeking information. The branch remained closed for security reasons after the assembled crowd threatened the staff, and police were deployed to control the situation. 

“We are still on site and monitoring the situation,” the spokesman added.