Thieves in Germany Pull Off Movie-Like Bank Heist

Thieves in western Germany pulled off a bank job similar to The Bank Job. Police in Gelsenkirchen say robbers tunneled into the underground vault of a Sparkasse savings bank from an adjoining parking garage, busting open more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes and making off with about $35 million worth of cash, gold, and jewelry, reports AFP. Investigators believe the gang spent a good part of the weekend inside the vault, grabbing the loot. The break-in wasn't discovered until early Monday.

Witnesses reported seeing several men hauling large bags in the parking garage's stairwell between Saturday night and Sunday, and security video captured a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage early Monday with masked occupants, per Germany's DW.com. The plates came from a stolen vehicle. A police spokesman described the operation as highly sophisticated, comparing it to the Ocean's Eleven heist film. (The 2008 Bank Job might be a closer comparison.)

"A great deal of prior knowledge and/or a great deal of criminal energy must have been involved to plan and carry this out," he said. Outside the bank on Tuesday, hundreds of anxious customers gathered, and few will get good news: Nearly every box was looted, reports the BBC. The thieves remain at large, and none of the stolen valuables have been recovered.