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Police Probe New Video Leads After Gelsenkirchen Vault Heist

The methodical break‑in from an adjacent parking garage emptied thousands of safe‑deposit boxes, triggering an intensive review of tips and surveillance images.

Overview

  • Surveillance clips from the garage show masked men paying at a ticket machine and lifting a barrier, with a white van and a black high‑performance car using stolen Hannover plates captured on camera.
  • Police now estimate a mid–two‑digit million‑euro haul, exceeding the initial rough insurance figure of about €30 million, marking one of Germany’s largest bank thefts.
  • Roughly 3,250 safe‑deposit boxes were almost entirely pried open, leaving more than 2,500 customers affected as the Buer branch remains closed due to structural damage.
  • The bank directs clients to a hotline and online guidance; standard cover is €10,300 per box and higher claims require documented inventories or separate private insurance.
  • Investigators say the crew drilled through from an archive room after entering via the garage; an early‑Monday fire alarm exposed the crime following an earlier Saturday alarm that found no damage, and no arrests have been announced.