It sounds like the Hollywood film “Ocean’s Eleven”: In Los Angeles, thieves stole around $30 million from a money vault on Easter Sunday. The coup was only discovered on Monday.
Thieves stole up to $30 million (almost €28 million) in cash from a money storage facility in the US state of California. The spectacular break-in occurred on Easter Sunday in a low-rise building in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley, where cash from area companies is kept. This was announced by Elaine Morales of the Los Angeles Police Department, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The perpetrators got into the building through the roof of the money storage facility, the newspaper reported, citing investigators. They were able to avoid triggering the state-of-the-art alarm system and thus gained access to a safe in the building.
“So incredible you would never suspect it”
The theft was only discovered on Monday when employees opened the storage. The federal agency FBI is investigating together with the police in Los Angeles. No further details were disclosed.
The complex theft appears to be the work of an experienced gang, reported the Los Angeles Times. The TV station ABC News quoted an employee of the money storage facility as saying that it was “so unbelievable that you would never suspect it.”
Some major thefts in the region
It is said to be one of the largest cash heists in Los Angeles history. However, the crime is part of a series of major thefts in the Los Angeles region of southern California. Two years ago, thieves stole jewelry worth up to $100 million from a truck parked at a rest stop. In July, a man cut a hole in the ceiling of an upscale wine shop and stole $600,000 worth of Burgundy and Bordeaux wines.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the city’s largest cash theft to date occurred in 1997, when $18.9 million was stolen from an armored storage facility. That’s when the thieves were caught.
Katharina Wilhelm, ARD Los Angeles, tagesschau, April 5th, 2024 12:46 p.m