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Thieves drill through wall to loot 3,000 safe deposit boxes
Police in the western German town of Gelsenkirchen are investigating one of the country's largest bank heists after burglars bored through a basement wall to empty over 3,000 safe deposit boxes, making off with an estimated €100 million in cash, gold, and jewellery. More than a month later, no arrests have been made, and victims say the crime has shattered their trust in financial institutions.
How the heist unfolded
Officials believe the gang gained access to the Sparkasse savings bank in the Buer district by tampering with an escape door connecting the bank to a neighbouring multi-storey car park. Under normal conditions, the door could not be opened from the outside, but the thieves ensured it remained ajar, granting them "unhindered access" to the bank's interior.
From there, the burglars navigated past multiple security systems before reaching an archive room adjacent to the vault. Using an industrial drill, they bored a 40 cm-wide hole in the wall separating the archive from the strongroom, where the safe deposit boxes were stored. The entire operation took place between the early hours of 27 December and the morning of 29 December.
Alarms raised-and ignored
The thieves may have come close to being caught. At 06:00 on 27 December, a fire alarm triggered in the vault, prompting a response from the Gelsenkirchen fire brigade and a private security firm. Twenty firefighters arrived at 06:15 but found no signs of smoke, fire, or damage. Since the vault's roll shutter was locked, they concluded it was a false alarm-a decision later criticised by North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister, Herbert Reul.
Reul told a state parliamentary committee that police lacked the authority to search the bank without a warrant, as the incident fell under the fire brigade's jurisdiction. The alarm, he confirmed, had originated from the vault itself.
Chaos and loss: Victims left devastated
The theft was only discovered two days later, when another fire alarm sounded at 03:58 on 29 December. Firefighters returned to find the vault in disarray, with over 500,000 items-discarded contents of the ransacked boxes-strewn across the floor. Police described the scene as resembling "a rubbish dump." Many valuables were damaged after the thieves doused them with water and chemicals.
Among the victims was Joachim Alfred Wagner, 63, who said he lost gold worth tens of thousands of euros, as well as irreplaceable family heirlooms passed down from his father and grandparents. Wagner, who had rented the box after repeated burglaries at his home, told reporters, "I cried with rage." He has since filed a lawsuit against the bank, alleging lax security.
The Sparkasse has stated that the contents of each safe deposit box are typically insured for up to €10,300. However, many clients stored far greater sums. One victim reportedly lost €400,000 in cash from the sale of a property, money intended for retirement.
Security failures and unanswered questions
Reul raised several troubling questions about the bank's security measures. How did the thieves know the exact location of the vault? Why did no one hear the drilling? And was an insider involved? Bank officials insist their premises were secured with "state-of-the-art technology," but critics argue the heist exposes glaring vulnerabilities.
Police have released CCTV footage from the car park showing masked men carrying large bags, along with images of two vehicles used in the robbery: a black Audi RS 6 and a white Mercedes Citan, both fitted with fake licence plates. Witnesses reported seeing the suspects in the car park stairwell during the night of 27 December.
Investigators have also questioned why the bank's computer systems recorded the first box being breached at 10:45 on 27 December and the last at 14:44-raising doubts about whether the thieves worked non-stop or if the system stopped logging activity.
A crime with political fallout
The heist has sparked broader debates about institutional trust in Germany. Shortly after the theft was discovered, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party staged a rally outside the bank, drawing accusations of exploiting the crime for political gain. Magazine Der Spiegel described the robbery as a symbol of deeper anxieties, writing that it "embodies the feeling that promises of security are hollow, that institutions are failing, and that no one is being held accountable."
Reul acknowledged the psychological toll on victims, many of whom stored not just valuables but sentimental items. "This is more than the loss of property," he said. "It impacts their trust in their own sense of security and in our societal order."
Police Chief Tim Frommeyer called the case "one of the biggest criminal investigations in North Rhine-Westphalia's history," vowing to pursue all leads. Meanwhile, the bank's clients continue to grapple with the aftermath, with some questioning whether their losses will ever be recovered.
