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Tens of millions stolen in Belfast heist
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| girllovingtvibe |
I wish I knew why I was not included in this heist...dahum
Tens of millions stolen in Belfast heist
Executives kidnapped, forced to aid thieves, police say
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BELFAST — Thieves stole more than 20 million pounds, the equivalent of more than $47 million Cdn from a Belfast bank in the biggest robbery in Northern Ireland history after holding family members of two bank officials hostage for a day in their homes, authorities said today.
Police said the thieves took over the houses of two senior Northern Bank executives yesterday, then forced the employees to help the gang gain access to the vault after the bank closed for business last night.
Assistant Chief Const. Sam Kinkaid said members of the bank employees’ families had been held hostage for at least a day and were left traumatized by the ordeal.
The sum stolen “is quite considerable and may be in excess of 20 million pounds,” or $48 million, Kinkaid said.
Police say more than 80 major crime gangs operate in Northern Ireland, and many gang members belong to illegal paramilitary groups. Kinkaid said today that it was too early to say whether the gang behind yesterday’s raid had links to paramilitary groups.
Police weren’t informed about the robbery until nearly midnight, six hours after the gang began clearing the safe. They said the Northern Bank employees’ families suffered no wounds, but a member of one of the families was hospitalized suffering from hypothermia in circumstances that weren’t explained.
The targeted safe stored money being distributed to all 95 branches of Northern Bank in Northern Ireland in the run-up to Christmas, when banks typically handle their greatest volumes of cash. Police suspect that the gang used a large truck to carry away the cash.
Northern Bank said it could not comment on any details of the raid. “However, initial indications are that affected staff are safe. This is our No. 1 priority,” it said in a statement.
The group with the biggest reputation for mounting bank robberies is the Irish Republican Army, which is observing a 1997 ceasefire but continues to run a range of criminal enterprises, including cigarette and fuel smuggling. The group in the past has gained access to high-security targets by taking the families of employees hostage.
Police in May accused the IRA of taking staff hostage at Northern Ireland’s biggest retail superstore, then stealing more than $9.5 million Cdn in goods loaded onto a truck.
The latest incident comes a week after Northern Bank’s owner, National Australia Bank, announced it was selling the bank to Danske Bank of Denmark in a deal expected to be concluded in spring 2005.
The Guinness Book of Records said the biggest known bank robbery was that of the German central bank, the Reichsbank, in 1945, following the Nazis’ defeat, in which an estimated 2.5 billion pounds at 1984 values was stolen.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...ol=968793972154 |
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| digitul punk |
| Brilliant! :p |
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| Boomer187 |
| quote: | Originally posted by josh4
wow thats a new spin. kidnap the managers and force them to help you. most robberies you hear about happen completely at the bank. i commend these theives, may they live long and prosper with their new found fortune. |
Ive seen this before. some guys took over this bank chicks house adn held her fam hostage while one guy went with her to the bank. She tried to catch him on film at teh atm but that didn't work. He ended up getting the money, but I believe they were caught later.
why don't they just break into the bank the old fashion way :wtf: |
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| Floorfiller |
i think it's kinda messed up...no need to involve peoples families...
i've always loved this kinda stuff though hehehe... |
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| Ondrayce |
| That's how Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thorton robbed banks in Bandits. |
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| girllovingtvibe |
| quote: | Originally posted by Boomer187
why don't they just break into the bank the old fashion way :wtf: |
"because the times - they are a changing" - lol |
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| jonze234 |
| they will never find me, i mean them. :) |
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| Michael19 |
| they stole way too much money, there d now. |
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| jonSun |
| This makes the Luftanza hiest look weak. |
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| Fundamental |
| quote: | Originally posted by Boomer187
why don't they just break into the bank the old fashion way :wtf: |
With a revolver, a horse and a barrel of gunpowder?
I'm not sure how well spaghetti western tactics would work with today's banks. :p |
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| dallastar |
| up in smoke!:eek: |
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| wwu.punisher |
Interesting approach they took on this one.
I think the most creative approach I have ever heard of, however, is a case here in the states where four men dressed as police stormed a bank and convinced the manager that they had received reports of a robbery in progress.
Scared that something might actually be going on in the vault, the manager opened it and allowed the men inside. They proceeded to take control of the bank at this point, stole several million dollars, and escaped. I believe they were captured a month or two later on another job... but the point is, they pulled off the "cop" job. |
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