In a robbery straight out of a crime thriller, thieves broke into a bank vault in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, making away with cash, gold and jewellery worth an estimated €30 million ($35 million), according to a report by CBS News.
The suspects remain at large. In widely circulated images and videos, distressed customers were seen gathering outside the bank branch, demanding information about their valuables. Police cordoned off the area and prevented customers from entering the premises.
Robbers Drilled Through Parking Garage
According to CBS News, the robbers gained access to the underground vault of the Sparkasse savings bank by drilling through a wall from an adjacent parking garage. Investigators believe the gang may have spent much of the weekend inside the vault, systematically breaking open safety deposit boxes.
The crime came to light in the early hours of Monday after a fire alarm was triggered. Emergency services responding to the alert discovered a large hole drilled into the vault wall, exposing the scale of the breach.
A police spokesperson told AFP that the break-in was “very professionally executed,” likening it to the Hollywood heist film Ocean’s Eleven.
Authorities said more than 3,000 safety deposit boxes were targeted, each with an average insured value of €10,000, leading investigators to estimate total losses at around €30 million.
Heist Raises Fresh Security Concerns in Europe
The incident comes amid heightened security concerns across Europe following other high-profile thefts. Recently, managers of the Louvre Museum in Paris announced steps to tighten security after thieves broke in through an upper-storey window and stole French crown jewels valued at an estimated $102 million. While four suspects in that case have been arrested, none of the stolen state treasures have been recovered.
