$30 Million Stolen Through Hole In The Wall: Largest Cash Burglary Potentially In American History
LOS ANGELES -- Thieves stole as much $30 million in an Easter Sunday burglary at a Los Angeles money storage facility in one of the largest cash heists in city history, police said.
Sources told our sister station KABC the theft happened at a GardaWorld facility in Sylmar.
The thieves broke into the facility undetected - without setting off alarms - by going through the roof and somehow getting into the money storage area, which may have been a vault, according to officials briefed on the investigation.
The company that owns the building did not discover the massive theft until Monday morning.
KABC's helicopter was over the facility Wednesday and captured an apparent hole on the side of the building that was boarded up. A pile of debris was right next to it. It's unclear if that damage is related to Sunday's theft.
LAPD says the agency is working with the FBI on the case. It's unclear exactly how much was stolen, but it's believed to be one of the biggest heists in L.A. history.
The sophisticated heist leads authorities to believe that a crew of some kind is responsible for the brazen break-in. No suspect information was immediately available.
The theft comes nearly two years after as much as $100 million in jewels and other valuables were stolen from a Brink's big rig at a Southern California truck stop. The thieves haven't been caught.
A month later and these guys still have not been caught. This is one of the most interesting cases of all time and something you see out of a movie. It has now ranked in the top 5 American involved bank robberies at number #3.
1. Central Bank of Iraq Heist ($1 billion, 2003)
While not in the United States, this is considered the biggest bank heist in history. In March 2003, just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein ordered nearly $1 billion to be stolen from Iraq's Central Bank. Around $650 million was later found, but $350 million was never recovered.
2. United California Bank Robbery ($30 million, 1972)
On March 24, 1972, a gang stole around $30 million (worth $100 million today) in cash and valuables from the United California Bank's vault in Laguna Niguel, California. This was the biggest cash heist in American history at the time. The culprits were eventually caught and most of the loot recovered.
3. Recent $30 Million Easter Sunday Heist (2024)
In one of the largest cash burglaries in Los Angeles history, thieves stole around $30 million from a money storage facility in Sylmar on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2024.34 The sophisticated crew breached the vault undetected, surpassing the previous LA record of $18.9 million stolen in 1997.
4. Dunbar Armored Robbery ($18.9 million, 1997)
On September 12, 1997, six robbers stole $18.9 million from the Dunbar Armored facility in Los Angeles. This was the largest cash robbery in LA history until the recent 2024 Easter heist surpassed it. The Dunbar culprits were eventually caught.
5. Brinks Building Robbery ($2.8 million, 1950)
On January 17, 1950, an 11-member gang stole $2.8 million (worth $34 million today) in cash, securities and valuables from the Brinks Building in Boston. It was dubbed the "crime of the century" at the time.
If you stole this much money and had to go hide where would you go? I mean Mexico almost sounds too obvious and with that amount of cash almost seems too dangerous. I would try to get to Alaska by boat. I feel like Alaska has a low population density and low crime, plus the cartel can't get you and most law enforcement don't check in too much with the lower 48.
In the 21st century, it almost seems way too insane that they can get away with a robbery this large and still not be found after a month. Like aren't cell phone tower pinging and making sure your metadata doesn't give you away? I hope these guys get away with it. Robbing a bank would be the coolest bonding experience with bros. I have had the take that they should do escape room experiences but with fake banks to rob.
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