Berlin [Germany], December 31: Thieves drilled through a concrete wall and stole tens of millions of euros worth of assets from a bank in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
German police announced on December 30 that a branch of the Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen had been broken into and valuable assets worth at least 10 million euros (nearly 309 billion VND) had been stolen, according to Reuters.
The gang of thieves drilled through the thick concrete wall and broke into the bank 's safes , opening thousands of customer safes to steal money and valuables stored inside.
Most shops and banks in Germany closed for Christmas starting on the afternoon of December 24th. Police only discovered the hole in the bank's wall after the fire alarm went off in the early morning of December 29th.
On December 30, dozens of angry customers gathered outside the bank demanding to be let inside. "I couldn't sleep last night. We haven't received any information," one man told local media outside the bank. He said he had used the safe deposit box at this branch for 25 years and that it contained his savings for his retirement. Another man said he had used the bank's safe deposit box to store his family's cash and jewelry.
Sparkasse representatives in Ggelsenkirchen have not commented on the incident.
Police said witnesses reported seeing several people carrying large bags on the staircase of a nearby parking garage on the evening of December 27.
There were also reports of a black Audi RS 6 leaving the parking lot in the early hours of December 29th, with a person wearing a face mask inside. The license plate indicated the car had been stolen in Hanover, more than 200 km northeast of Gelsenkirchen.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
