There are many people in the world who try to get rich illegally. The desire to gain wealth causes some to sacrifice literally ... everything for it. Some robbery stories give people the chills of honestly earning their future. Spectacular thefts can also be inspiring - especially for film directors. Which of the world's robberies was the most spectacular? Here are the 8 biggest thefts in history that really happened.
The biggest and most spectacular thefts in history
1. "The attack of the century" (August 6, 1963)
It was by far the largest train robbery to have occurred in Great Britain - Buckinghamshire, to be exact. The route of the train ran from Glasgow to London. The thieves planned the robbery in late 1962. A bribed postal worker then handed over to one of the robbers a detailed plan of the train route, which was supposed to contain a huge amount of money. On August 6, 1963, a gang of 15 people stopped a train belonging to the British Post Office. How? He gave a false signal to the drivers, turning on the red light. When the attackers realized that neither of them knew how to drive this type of train, they forced the driver to lead him further - ordering him to go to the "appointed place". The gang stole a total of more than 2.6 million pounds from the locomotive, which corresponds to today's amount of approx. 36,780,000.00GBP. After the machine reached the agreed place, the thieves had approx. 30 minutes to transfer the money to the van. The gang split the loot and disappeared. After a short time, however, the participants of the attack were caught and imprisoned - most of them ended up in prison. The longest sentence was 30 years' imprisonment, which he received, inter alia, Bruce Reynolds. Interestingly, Reynolds, the initiator and main perpetrator of the train robbery, published a book in 1995 entitled "The Autobiography of a Thief."
2. Theft of jewelry in a hotel in Cannes (28 July 2013)
In July 2013, there was an attack on the Intercontinental Carlton in Cannes (France). The thief, who has not been caught so far, stole jewelry worth a staggering 136 million dollars from the hotel. An Israeli billionaire (Lev Leviev) lent her a hotel in Cannes to create an exclusive exhibition. How did a robber steal jewelry from a hotel? He entered the room wearing a cap and a scarf over his face, with an automatic weapon in his hand. The bodyguards were not prepared for such a circumstance. Seeing the armed attacker, the defenseless guards immediately lay down on the ground. The exhibition was just being installed, which the thief knew perfectly well - and what he decided to benefit from. He quickly intercepted the jewels that had just been placed at the exhibition (72 pieces), and then ran out of the back door. Nobody saw him anymore. Why was this allowed to happen? There was too little security in an elegant hotel. Was it Alfred Hitchcock, who made the film "Thief in the Hotel" here in 1955, that brought bad luck to the Cannes hotel? So far, the police have not been able to establish who the robber was.
3. Mona Lisa stole from the Louvre (23 August 1911)
In 1911, the greatest art theft of the 20th century took place. It was made by an Italian employee of the Louvre, Vincenzo Peruggia. On Sunday, he hid in the museum, knowing that the building would not be open to visitors the next day. The next day, he changed into a white work apron and secretly carried the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci - having previously disposed of the frame of the work. He hid the painting under a wide apron and carried it out of the museum as soon as the guard of the gate was out of sight. He took Mona Lisa to his small Parisian apartment. There he managed to keep the painting for 2 years. Later, Vincenzo decided to take him to Italy. He probably had higher hopes connected with it - namely, he expected a reward after returning the work to his homeland. However, as it turned out, the Italian painter da Vinci was not robbed of his painting at all. He himself presented the Mona Lisa to the King of France, Francis I. Eventually, the painting returned to its place, to the Louvre. The court sentenced Vincenzo Peruggia to just one year in prison. The sentence was anyway shortened to seven months afterward. Peruggia, after serving his sentence in a prison, served in the army. After the war, he got married and opened ... a painting shop.
4. A robbery of a jewelry store in Paris (5 December 2008)
In 2008, there was another robbery here, this time on the Harry Winston jewelry store. Not everyone knows, but the Harry Winston chain of jewelry stores is one of the most luxurious in the world. It is in Harry Winston that he buys, among others Queen Elizabeth II herself. From time to time, the stores of this brand become a tasty morsel for robbers. On December 5, 2008, four men disguised as women raided a jewelry store in Paris. They had magnum pistols and a hand grenade with them, which effectively scared the workers. They stole jewelry worth about $ 90 million. They packed necklaces, rings, earrings, and precious bracelets in several bags. The action went smoothly. The thieves knew all the employees of the jewelry store. They also knew very well the layout of the building. Not a single shot was fired during the robbery. To date, the police have detained as many as 25 people related to the robbery of the Harry Winston jewelry store.
The 8 greatest robberies that have gone down in the history of the world
5. The theft of diamonds in Antwerp, Belgium (16 February 2003)
Can you find the capital of the world's diamonds in the world? Yes of course! This is exactly what it is located in Antwerp (Belgium). The famous Antwerp Diamond Center became the main target of robbers in 2003, led by Leonardo Notarbartolo. He planned the jump to the diamond center with his helpers about three years before the day of the robbery. How did Leonardo find out about the security at the center? He pretended to be an Italian diamond merchant while devising the heist plan. This is how he gained the trust of his employees, but also, inter alia, a copy of the keys to the safe with precious stones. The robbers managed to empty most of the boxes from the 160 available pieces. They took out diamonds worth about $ 100 million. It would seem that an efficient operation would provide the thieves with a luxurious life, especially since at first it was difficult to find any trace behind them. However, the investigators found an unfinished sandwich, thanks to which they obtained DNA results from one of the suspects. Thus, they captured the commander of an organized crime group. Leonardo Notarbartolo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his audacious deed.
6. Bank robbery United California, United States (March 24, 1972)
This robbery was perpetrated by seven armed men who freely looted money and valuables from the United California bank in the USA. The robbery was estimated at around $30 million, which may not be very impressive compared to other stories. However, when converting this sum to today's times, it gives an exorbitant amount of about 100 million dollars! In the 1970s, it was a record amount of money stolen at once. The organized group was led by Amila Dinisio. The man flawlessly monitored the activities of his gang. Perhaps I would never have caught the thieves had it not been for another theft, this time in Ohio. This robbery, however, failed. The FBI managed to find the apartment of one of the gang members and then (following traces of unwashed plates) to the place where the men were. Fortunately, most of the stolen valuables were recovered
7. The "art collector" who robbed 170 museums in Europe
For seven years, the police could not find a thief who stole works of art. At that time, the robber took from 170 European museums of various colors of paintings, cups, and sculptures. He usually targeted poorly guarded galleries and museums. Stephane Breitwieser, who is the name of the thief, used to come to museums as soon as the opening hour struck. The employees were still sleepy, so their vigilance was also asleep. This fact was used by Breitwieser. All valuable work was carried either under a coat or in a backpack. It also happened that he threw them through a partially open window. During the opening at the Richard Wagner Museum in Lucerne, the robber committed the last theft. However, it ended in failure. Stephane Breitwieser admitted to stealing a total of 239 works of art. It was quickly estimated that their total value amounts to ... 1.4 billion dollars! Breitwieser, however, swore that he did not sell them at all, but collected them privately.
8. Theft at the Amsterdam airport (February 25, 2005)
The fifth point mentions Antwerp - the world center of diamonds. However, it must be remembered that diamonds must somehow get to the center. Most often they go to the Dutch Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, from where they are later transported to Antwerp. Four men came up with the idea of intercepting the diamonds and decided to dress up as employees responsible for the convoy of precious stones. Before the robbery, a criminal group stole a KLM car as well as clothes from Dutch aviation services. That is why they could drive the vehicle directly onto the apron without arousing any suspicions. On the day the diamonds arrived in Amsterdam, the men showed up at the airport to pick up the stones in person. Everything went smoothly - it turned out that the criminals had a deal with the employees of the Schipol airport. The value of the stolen loot is estimated at USD 118 million. The diamond robbers have not been caught to this day.
Bibliography:
- Stéphane Breitwieser: Confessions of an Art Thief, Muza Publishing House, Warsaw 2007
- Michael Crichton: The Great Train Robbery, UK 1978 (film)
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