3,250 boxes smashed in $35 million German Christmas bank heist

Robbers drilled into a Sparkasse bank vault in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, stealing cash, gold and jewellery worth 30 million euros during the Christmas break, police said on December 30. The gang entered the underground vault room from a parking garage and smashed more than 95 percent of 3,250 customer safe deposit boxes at the branch in North Rhine Westphalia state. German businesses closed for Christmas on Thursday and Friday, and investigators believe the thieves may have spent the holidays and weekend inside breaking open boxes undetected. The crime surfaced after a fire alarm triggered early Monday. Witnesses reported men carrying large bags overnight, and cameras showed a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage with masked occupants. Police said the car used stolen licence plates taken earlier in Hanover. A spokesman called the break in "indeed very professionally executed", comparing it to the film Ocean's Eleven. Hundreds of customers gathered outside the closed branch, some angry over losses beyond insurance limits. Bank spokesman Frank Krallmann said, "We are shocked", adding that a hotline was set up.