Germany, Dec 31 : Valuables worth an estimated €30 million (around $33 million) were stolen from a bank in the western German city of Gelsenkirchen just days before the New Year, in what police have described as one of the country’s largest bank heists in recent years.
German authorities confirmed the incident on Tuesday, with investigators saying the robbery appeared to have been carried out by a highly organised and technically skilled group. The scale of planning and coordination involved suggests a professional operation, police said, according to DW.
Investigators believe the burglars accessed the bank through an underground parking garage before drilling through a wall to reach the vault area. Once inside, the suspects broke open thousands of safe deposit lockers containing cash, gold and jewellery, and then fled using the same route.
More than 3,000 safe-deposit boxes were damaged during the break-in. Based on an average insured value of €10,000 per locker, police have estimated total losses at approximately €30 million.
The theft came to light on Monday after a fire alarm was triggered inside the building, prompting emergency services to respond. It was only then that officials realised the extent of the robbery.
Several witnesses later told police they saw men carrying heavy bags inside the stairwell of the parking garage during the night. Investigators are also reviewing CCTV footage that reportedly shows a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage early Monday morning. Police said the occupants were masked and the vehicle was using a licence plate that had been stolen earlier from the northern German city of Hanover.
Over the past two days, dozens of customers gathered outside the affected bank branch seeking information about their valuables. Media reports said many victims had stored gold and jewellery in their lockers, with some claiming their losses exceeded insured limits.
Police have urged customers not to file individual complaints at this stage and instead coordinate directly with the bank, which is compiling damage assessments and sharing them daily with investigators. The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made so far.