Thieves took advantage of the quiet Christmas holiday to drill their way into the vault of a German retail bank and steal at least €10m, police said on Tuesday.
The break-in occurred at a branch of Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany, where the suspects drilled through a thick concrete wall to gain access to the vault.
According to reports, the robbers forced open customer safe deposit boxes and made away with the sum.
Most shops and banks in Germany close from the evening of December 24 for the Christmas holidays.
The crime went undetected until the early hours of Monday, December 29, when a fire alarm was triggered, alerting police to the breach.
According to Reuters, angry and anxious customers gathered outside the bank on Tuesday, chanting “Let us in!” as they demanded information about the fate of their belongings.
“I couldn’t sleep last night. We’re getting no information,” one customer told German broadcaster Welt, saying he had used the deposit box for 25 years to store his retirement savings. Another customer said he kept cash and family jewellery in his box.
Police said witnesses reported seeing several men carrying large bags through the stairwell of a nearby parking garage late on Saturday night.
Investigators are also looking into reports that a black Audi RS6, carrying masked occupants, drove out of the garage early Monday morning. The vehicle was reportedly bearing licence plates from a car stolen in Hanover, more than 200 kilometres from Gelsenkirchen.
Investigations into the heist are ongoing, police said.
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