“Flood” of information after a bank break-in in Gelsenkirchen

“It won’t stop at all,” said a police spokesman about the information. There is a wide spectrum. Experts and investigators from other federal states also came forward to provide information in the case.

Other whistleblowers noticed little things in circulating photos from the underground car park. “We have a lot of information from many directions,” said the police spokesman. However, there are currently no arrests pending.

The investigators checked whether the perpetrators also used a white van in the spectacular break-in at the branch. “We think it is possible that the van was involved in the crime,” said the spokesman.

The police reported on Tuesday about a black high-powered car with masked men that could be seen on video footage in the adjacent parking garage. The license plate was stolen in Hanover.

Burglary over several days?

During the break-in, the perpetrators broke into almost all 3,250 customer lockers at the Sparkasse branch in the Buer district. The perpetrators broke into an archive room, from which they drilled a large hole in the vault.

The large special drill, a so-called core drill, was not left at the crime scene. It has not been found and it is assumed that the device was taken back by the perpetrators, said the police spokesman.

Emergency services discovered the break-in early on Monday morning as a result of an alarm from the fire alarm system. The loot spree may have lasted for days: Witnesses observed several men with large bags in the stairwell of the parking garage on the night from Saturday to Sunday.

The loot was initially roughly stated as the insured sum of around 30 million euros, but could also be significantly higher. The Sparkasse branch is closed for the time being. At the beginning of the week, many concerned customers gathered in front of the branch demanding information.