Pulling off a daring robbery isn’t as easy as it seems in the movies. In fact, it’s a lot more complicated! It often takes thieves years of careful planning to get past armed guards and high-tech smart alarm systems to successfully escape with their ill-gotten gains.
But who pulled off the biggest heist in history, and how did they do it? Let’s indulge in a little fun and take a look back at the daring, the devious and the downright baffling.
The Dresden Jewellery Heist: On the 25th of November 2019, a group of 5 men pulled off one of the highest value heists in history, as well as one of the more spectacular! The thieves started a fire close to the museum to cut the power to the street lights outside the museum, disabled the security alarms and cut through iron bars to reach three sets of 18th Century jewellery, 31 pieces in total including a 49-carat diamond. The swag is worth just over £1 billion today, and the thieves were caught and convicted in 2023.
The Central Bank of Iraq Robbery: In 2003 the US invaded Iraq. While a lot of horrible things happened at that time, nearly $1 billion in cash was also stolen from the Central Bank of Iraq. Masterminded by Saddam Hussein, the aim was to get as much cash as possible to fund the war. So he has his son Qusay Hussein rob the bank with a handwritten note demanding £575 million in US bank notes – which was about a quarter of the whole country’s currency reserves and enough cash to fill three large trucks.
The Antwerp Diamond Heist: Another robbery known as the ‘heist of the century’, this was planned by just one man and pulled off almost perfectly. In 2000 a man named Leonardo Notarbartolo moved into an apartment next to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, disguised as a diamond merchant. In 2003, Leonardo and his crew broke into a vault in the centre that was two floors underground, protected by 10 different layers of security to steal diamonds and gold worth $100 million. They didn’t trip a single alarm or any of the 63 security cameras in the process, and Notarbartolo was only linked to the crime by some roadside trash and DNA found on a sandwich. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but many of the jewels were never found.
The Stockholm Helicopter Robbery: If you want one that’s straight out of an action film, this is it! In 2009 the police were stunned by Sweden’s first helicopter robbery. A stolen helicopter landed on the roof of a cash depot building in Stockholm just after 5am. Thieves then smashed their way in with sledgehammers, blew out security doors with explosives, and raided the cash vaults. All the while the helicopter waited overhead to hoist up the bags of cash and then haul the thieves up and out. The authorities struggled to catch them because a bag marked ‘bomb’ was placed in their own helicopter hanger, and police cars speeding to the building had their tyres blown out by spikes on the road. The thieves made away with $5.3 million, and while they were eventually caught, the money was never recovered.
Kim Kardashian’s Hotel: In terms of celebrity victims, Kim Kardashian takes the top spot after armed thieves stole £11.1 million of jewellery from her hotel room in Paris. The robbers escaped with a range of her jewellery, including an engagement ring from her then-husband Kanye West.
The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist: An honourable mention has to go to the Great Canadian maple syrup heist, which happened over several months in 2011 and 2012. Nearly 3,000 tonnes of maple syrup (valued at £13.7 million) disappeared from a storage facility in the province of Quebec. It accounted for more than 77% of the worlds supply of maple syrup, and the authorities were baffled. As it turns out, a gang had siphoned syrup from barrels and replaced it with water. They were caught ‘sticky-handed’ in 2022 and ordered to repay the full amount.
How Do You Protect Your Business From Robberies?
Of course, it’s not just banks that are targeted by robberies. Many thieves see businesses as a goldmine – full of valuable items ripe for the taking. So it’s important for you to protect your premises as well as the people and assets within. There are a few things you can do to achieve this:
- Keep the outside clean: Maintaining an exterior free of rubbish and graffiti will significantly reduce the likelihood of your business becoming a target.
- Identify weak points: Carry out a thorough inspection and risk assessment of your premises, making note of any areas that could be used to break in, or even to gain entry without causing damage. Once you’ve identified them all, take steps to make them more secure.
- Lock service doors: If you have service doors on your premises, make sure they are kept shut and locked whenever they aren’t in use. This will stop opportunists from sneaking in without being spotted.
- Invest in an alarm system: Make sure you have a monitored alarm that’s fully operational. Alarm systems are the perfect way to keep your building secure when you aren’t around, and a monitored system means that there will be a person able to see and respond to incidents in real time.
- Install CCTV: On top of alarms, you should also have CCTV installed in and around your premises. Ideally this will have been done by a professional, and high-tech enough to provide facial recognition and good-quality images. This provides you with 24-hour digital security that can be both a useful deterrent and a helpful tool if something does happen. You can read more on this here.
- Light your exterior: Darkness is a thief’s best friend, so light your business up like a Christmas tree! Make sure they have nowhere to hide nearby either – prune overgrown bushes or nearby trees so there’s no cover for them.
- Protect your windows and doors: Doors and windows are particularly vulnerable, so it’s important to keep them secure. There are plenty of solutions to protect them from smashing, from shutters and grilles to smash-proof window films.
- Use a smokescreen: Smoke cloaks or smoke-generating devices are a great way to protect your stock and equipment even if a thief does make their way inside. These devices activate on unauthorised entry and release a large quantity of thick smoke (which is really water and glycol vapour). The smoke is completely harmless, but it stops intruders being able to see anything and means they leave empty handed.
At Securifix, we provide a wide range of security solutions for business owners, no matter where your premises may be. Whether you’re in a large industrial unit or a small retail shop, we can provide bespoke advice, free security reviews and tailored security solutions to keep your business safe. If you’d like to know more, just get in touch with the team today.