Thieves drill into German bank vault, steal tens of millions in cash, valuables

Police said the perpetrators gained access to the savings fund building through a parking garage and escaped with the loot.

Thieves stole tens of millions of euros worth of property and cash from safety deposit boxes inside a German bank vault that they drilled into Monday, police said.

Around 2,700 bank customers were affected by the theft in Gelsenkirchen, police and the Sparkasse bank said.

Thomas Nowaczyk, a police spokesperson, said investigators believe the theft was worth between 10 and 90 million euros ($16 to 145 million).

In an updated press release on Facebook, the Gelsenkirchen Police Department said the burglary came to light on Monday morning. Police said that amid the holiday lull, the thieves used a large drill to make a hole in a safe room and search the valuables inside it.

“Police became aware of the burglary by a fire alarm that was raised on Monday morning at 3:58 AM at the fire department,” the press release said. “Subsequently, the police and fire brigade immediately began to search the building and noticed the hole in the basement and the burglary.”

According to initial investigations, police said the perpetrators gained access to the savings fund building through a parking garage and escaped with the loot.

Witnesses told investigators they saw several men carrying large bags in a nearby parking garage during the night of Friday to Saturday.

Officers from the investigation team have reviewed initial video footage from the parking garage, which shows a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage early Monday morning.