Thieves Drill into German Bank Vault in ‘Ocean’s Eleven-Style’ Raid, Stealing Ksh4.5 Billion
Police in western Germany are hunting for a gang of highly organised thieves who carried out a daring overnight raid on a high street bank, drilling into an underground vault and stealing an estimated Ksh4.5 billion in cash and valuables.
The meticulously planned heist targeted a Sparkasse savings bank branch in the city of Gelsenkirchen, where investigators say criminals used heavy drilling equipment to break into more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes containing money, gold and jewellery.
A police spokesman described the operation as “very professionally executed,” likening it to the Hollywood blockbuster Ocean’s Eleven. Speaking to AFP, the official said the perpetrators appeared to have exploited the “quiet Christmas days” to carry out the crime without drawing attention.
The robbery is believed to have taken place between Saturday night, December 27, and the early hours of Monday morning, December 29, 2025. Police were alerted only after a fire alarm was triggered inside the bank on Nienhofstrasse in the Buer district.
“When emergency services arrived, they discovered a hole had been drilled into the underground vault room,” Gelsenkirchen Police said in a statement.
Initial investigations suggest the suspects gained access to the building and later escaped through an adjacent parking garage. Witnesses reported seeing several men carrying large bags on the garage staircase during the night.
Police also confirmed that surveillance footage shows a black Audi RS 6 leaving the parking garage on De-La-Chevallerie-Strasse in the early hours of Monday morning. Officers are now appealing for anyone with information about the vehicle or the suspects to come forward.
So far, no arrests have been made and the perpetrators remain at large.
The scale of the theft has sparked anger and anxiety among affected customers, many of whom gathered outside the branch on Tuesday demanding answers.
“I couldn’t sleep last night. We’re getting no information,” one distressed customer told German broadcaster Welt, according to Reuters. “My savings for old age were in there.”
Sparkasse Bank confirmed that approximately 95 per cent of the safe deposit boxes had been forced open, warning customers that the likelihood they were affected was “very high.” The bank said it had set up a dedicated hotline for customers and urged them to make contact as soon as possible.
In a statement published on its website, Sparkasse said the branch would remain closed on Tuesday following the break-in. It also assured customers that the contents of each safe deposit box are insured up to Ksh1.5 billion, advising individuals to check whether they hold additional cover through their home insurance policies.
Police have secured the premises and forensic teams continue to comb the scene as the investigation intensifies into one of the largest bank heists in the region in recent years.
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Thieves Drill into German Bank Vault in ‘Ocean’s Eleven-Style’ Raid, Stealing Ksh4.5 Billion