Executive Summary
- Thieves drilled into a bank vault from an adjacent garage, stealing an estimated $35 million in valuables.
- The heist occurred during the Christmas holiday shutdown at a Sparkasse branch in Gelsenkirchen.
- Over 3,000 safe deposit boxes were forced open, stripping the vault of cash, gold, and jewelry.
- Police are searching for a black Audi RS 6 with stolen plates seen fleeing the scene.
German authorities have launched a widespread manhunt for a group of sophisticated thieves who executed a massive heist at a Sparkasse bank branch in Gelsenkirchen, escaping with cash, gold, and jewelry valued at approximately $35 million. The robbery, which investigators believe was meticulously planned, took place during the extended Christmas holiday shutdown, allowing the perpetrators ample time to breach the facility’s security measures.
According to local police reports, the thieves gained access to the bank’s vault room by drilling through a concrete wall from a neighboring parking garage. Investigators suspect the gang utilized a professional-grade core drill to create an entry point into the underground secure area. Once inside, the perpetrators broke open more than 3,000 private safe deposit boxes, representing over 95% of the lockers at the branch. The crime was discovered early Monday morning after a fire alarm was triggered, prompting emergency services to find the breach in the vault wall.
Witnesses in the vicinity reported seeing several men carrying large bags through the stairwell of the adjacent parking garage during the night between Saturday and Sunday. Security camera footage reviewed by detectives captured a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage in the early hours of Monday with masked occupants inside. Police confirmed that the high-performance vehicle bore license plates that had been stolen earlier in Hanover, located more than 200 kilometers away.
A police spokesman described the operation as “very professionally executed,” drawing comparisons to the film Ocean’s Eleven due to the complexity and scale of the break-in. “There is no doubt the perpetrators had extensive prior knowledge,” the spokesman stated. While the average insured value of the boxes is estimated at 10,000 euros each, many distressed customers indicated that their losses far exceed this amount, with some losing life savings and family heirlooms stored for decades.
Investigative Outlook
The scale and precision of this heist suggest a high level of organized criminal activity, likely involving surveillance and logistical planning that spanned weeks or months. Investigators are currently focused on forensic analysis of the drilled entry point and the tracking of the getaway vehicle to identify the suspects. As law enforcement agencies across the region coordinate to locate the perpetrators and recover the stolen assets, authorities emphasize that any individuals eventually apprehended in connection with this crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
