Massive hole dug into bank vault over Christmas and £30,000,000 in gold taken

One of the largest bank heists in German history unfolded quietly over Christmas, with authorities only discovering the crime days later. Thieves carried out a highly sophisticated raid on a Sparkasse branch in Buer, a suburb of Gelsenkirchen, in a crime police likened to something out of Oceans Eleven. Investigators said the suspects accessed the bank through a connected car park, forced their way through several secured doors and used a powerful drill to break through the vaults reinforced concrete wall. The drill reportedly measured about 42cm and was capable of penetrating an 18-inch-thick barrier. Once inside the underground vault, the robbers spent hours emptying most of the 3,300 safety deposit boxes rented by around 2,700 customers. The stolen items reportedly included gold, cash, jewellery and other valuables, with losses estimated at roughly 30 million. At least 2,500 customers are believed to have been affected, with bank officials advising clients to assume their boxes were compromised.  Witnesses told police they saw several men carrying large bags through the car park stairwell on Saturday night before driving off in a black Audi RS6 fitted with stolen Hanover licence plates. Investigators believe the group used a 20kg industrial drill fitted with a synthetic diamond-coated crown, which would have required cooling during use. Police only became aware of the scale of the crime early Monday morning, shortly before 3:40am, after responding to a fire alarm at the bank. Inside the vault, officers found thousands of ripped-out cash boxes, scattered documents, smashed valuables and the massive drill used in the operation. This is an exceptionally spectacular case, the kind you usually see on TV, police spokesman Thomas Nowaczyk told Bild. Behind it lie many individual tragedies. News of the robbery sparked outrage among customers, with dozens gathering outside the closed bank branch on Tuesday, chanting, We want in! We want in! Some angry customers reportedly tried to confront police officers at the scene. Several affected customers described losing life savings set aside for weddings, holidays and their grandchildrens futures. Its all gone, one customer told local station WELT TV. Another said, Where is the security here? I deposited all my savings here. Im a blue-collar worker. Its all gone. Others questioned the banks security measures. Were talking about a savings bank here, one customer said, noting that even supermarkets like Lidl and Aldi have motion detectors. Police said the exact timing of the break-in remains unclear. Officers responding to an earlier fire alarm on December 27 had reported no visible damage at the time. A specialised police task force named Core Drill has since been established to track down the suspects. Authorities believe at least two or three people were involved and have appealed for witnesses to come forward. Sparkasse confirmed the branch remains closed due to extensive structural damage and said affected customers would be contacted directly. Each safety deposit box was insured for just under 9,000, meaning total insurance claims could reach up to 30 million. In a statement to customers, the bank said: The likelihood that your box has also been affected is very high. Unfortunately, you must assume that your box has also been broken into.The post Massive hole dug into bank vault over Christmas and 30,000,000 in gold taken appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.