A reward has been offered to track down four members of the so-called ‘Coat Gang’ who carried out a daring, movie-style Christmas heist last year.
The gang spent an entire day hiding inside a Deutsche Bank branch before looting 371 safe deposit boxes and leaving the next morning.
They even brought their own portable toilet so they wouldn’t have to use the office loos and risk leaving DNA behind.
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Police are baffled at how the crooks remained undetected for so long.
It’s thought they hid in upstairs offices, while the bank’s five-year-old alarm system failed to trigger after closing time, as reported by Need To Know.
The suspects walked off with over 661lbs (300kg) of gold and jewellery, as well as large sums of cash.
The total haul has now been confirmed at £16.7m (€19m), up from initial estimates of £15.8m (€18m).
On 20 December 2024, the four suspects – wearing long coats and face masks – entered the bank in Lübeck, northern Germany, at around midday and didn’t leave until 17 hours later.
Bank customers who were victims of the theft have now offered a reward of around £263,235 (€300,000) and hired renowned private investigator Josef Resch, 76, to hunt down the gang.
Resch said, “Everything was perfectly planned down to the smallest detail.
“In one of the suitcases, the suspects even brought their own mini-toilet so they wouldn’t have to use the bank’s restrooms and leave any DNA traces.
“It was probably a chemical toilet, like the kind campers often use. Perhaps one of them worked for the bank, or for a security or cleaning company.
“It’s incredibly brazen to lock themselves in there, getting into the vault, and then breaking open hundreds of safe deposit boxes overnight without being noticed.”
He added that a security guard had spotted two SUVs with people inside the bank’s courtyard, but “he didn’t take a note of the licence plates”.
The gang’s first and only mistake came at around 5 am when the alarm finally went off as they left via the courtyard – managing to escape in their getaway vehicles just minutes before police arrived.
Resch is confident the reward will generate a key tip.
He claimed he already has a strong lead, saying: “There’s supposed to be a meeting at a secret location soon.”
Public prosecutor’s office spokesman Jens Buscher confirmed the investigation is ongoing, reporting: “The value of the stolen goods now amounts to over €19m.”
The gang is still at large, and the investigation continues.
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