German police on Wednesday continued a manhunt for those behind a spectacular bank heist in the western city of Gelsenkirchen, where masked robbers drilled through a concrete wall into a vault room and escaped with cash, gold and jewelry worth an estimated $35 million.
The robbery took place at a branch of the Sparkasse savings bank. Investigators believe the thieves drilled their way into the underground vault from a neighboring parking garage, then broke open more than 3,000 private safe deposit boxes.
2 View gallery
Thieves gained access to the vault using a large drill
(Photo: AFP/ Police Gelsenkirchen)
Hundreds of bank customers gathered outside the branch on Tuesday, demanding information about the fate of their savings. Police were forced to keep them away from the entrance after threats were made against bank employees, and the branch remained closed.
Investigators suspect the gang took advantage of Germany’s extended Christmas shutdown, when most banks and businesses close from Christmas Eve on December 24. Police believe the robbers may have spent much of the holiday weekend inside the vault room, systematically breaking open safe deposit boxes one by one.
The crime was discovered early Monday morning, December 29, after a fire alarm was triggered and emergency services found a large hole drilled through the vault wall.
Witnesses later reported seeing several men carrying large bags through the stairwell of the nearby parking garage during the night between Saturday and Sunday. Security camera footage showed a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage in the early hours of Monday, with masked occupants inside. Police said the vehicle’s license plate had been stolen earlier in Hanover, more than 200 kilometers northeast of Gelsenkirchen.
A local police spokesman said the robbery was “indeed very professionally executed,” likening it to the film ‘Ocean’s Eleven.’
“There is no doubt the perpetrators had extensive prior knowledge,” the spokesman said.
Police said more than 95% of the branch’s 3,250 safe deposit boxes were broken into, each with an average insured value of about 10,000 euros. Authorities estimate total losses at roughly 30 million euros, or about $35 million, though some victims told police their losses far exceeded the insured amounts.
Several distressed customers said they had kept cash, gold and jewelry in the vaults for decades. One customer told German media he had stored savings there for 25 years, money he had set aside for old age. Another said he used the safe deposit box to protect family valuables.
The bank said it has set up a hotline for affected customers and is working with insurers to process claims. “We are shocked,” bank spokesman Frank Krallmann said. “We are standing by our customers and hope the perpetrators will be caught.”