BERLIN: Robbers used a big drill to interrupt right into a German financial institution’s vault room in the course of the prolonged Christmas break and steal money, gold and jewelry price 30 million euros (US$35 million), police and the financial institution mentioned on Tuesday (Dec 30).
The spectacular heist within the western metropolis of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia state, noticed thieves smash open greater than 3,000 secure deposit packing containers and make off with the loot.
Whereas the criminals remained at giant, a whole lot of distressed financial institution prospects massed outdoors the department on Tuesday, demanding data.
In keeping with police, the robbers drilled their method into the underground vault room of the Sparkasse financial savings financial institution from a parking storage.
The financial institution mentioned the department was “damaged into over the Christmas holidays” and that “greater than 95 per cent of the three,250 buyer secure deposit packing containers had been damaged into by unknown perpetrators”.
German companies had been closed for Christmas on Thursday and Friday final week, and investigators suspect the gang might have spent the vacations and weekend inside, breaking open the deposit packing containers.
The theft got here to mild after a hearth alarm was triggered within the early hours of Monday, and emergency companies found the opening.
Witnesses reported seeing a number of males carrying giant baggage within the stairwell of the parking storage in the course of the evening from Saturday to Sunday, police mentioned.
Footage from safety cameras confirmed a black Audi RS 6 leaving the parking storage early on Monday morning, with masked individuals inside.
The automobile’s licence plate had been stolen earlier within the metropolis of Hanover, police mentioned.
