Europe's Most Famous Heists

4 robberies worthy of the TV series Money Heists

Antwerp diamond heist - In 2001, Leonardo Notarbartolo rented an office at the Diamond Center in Antwerp to study its security system. 2 years later, the Sicilian and 4 other accomplices made their move. They circumvented all the security systems, forged the pass cards and blocked the cameras. They raided 123 of the 160 safes at the Diamond Center and stole $112 million. But Leonardo Notarbartolo’s DNA was found on a salami sandwich. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Notarbartolo has since been released and the stolen items have never been found.

The “Grandpa Gang” With an average age of 61, these older burglars stole over $17.9 million from a London jewelry store in 2015. The “grandpa burglars” went down the elevator shaft. They dug a hole, then drilled through the wall. Two meters thick, hours of work. A diamond drill was found on site. The burglary went unnoticed for 4 days. The entire gang was caught and sentenced, but two-thirds of the stolen items still haven’t been found.

Carlton Cannes heist - $115 million was stolen in a few seconds from the InterContinental Carlton Cannes in 2013. The hotel was holding an exhibition of fine jewelry. The thief entered through one of these French doors that had been left open. Once inside, he brandished a gun to six people, including three unarmed guards. He grabbed several boxes of jewelry, jumped over the railing, dropped some jewelry on the ground and ran away by foot via la Croisette. He got away with over $110 million. Neither the jewelry nor the burglar have ever been found.

4. The vacuum gang - Nicknamed the “vacuum gang,” 2 thieves in France stole nearly $670,000 between 2005 and 2011. They entered the rooms where the safes were kept in about 10 supermarkets that funneled money from their checkouts to their safes using a system of pneumatic tubes. They started by sawing through the tube that the money traveled through. They then connected a powerful vacuum to the inside of the secure safe and sucked up bills and coins. The thieves are still on the run…

Brut.