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Police Detail Gelsenkirchen Vault Raid, Citing Manipulated Fire Door and Four-Hour Plunder

Victims face months of forensic cataloguing before they learn what was taken.

Overview

  • Digital records place the break-ins on December 27, 2025, between 10:45 and 14:44, when box openings were logged.
  • Investigators say the thieves entered from the parking garage through a manipulated escape door, drilled a 40-centimeter hole into the vault and forced open nearly all 3,256 boxes.
  • The vault was contaminated with chemicals that complicate trace recovery, leaving hundreds of thousands of items to examine and secure.
  • A 230-person task force is reviewing about 10,000 hours of video totaling roughly 8 terabytes and is preparing to interview thousands of affected customers.
  • Possible insider assistance is under scrutiny and lawsuits are being prepared against the Sparkasse, with damages tentatively estimated up to a nine-figure sum and standard coverage capped at €10,300 per box.