Large-Scale Heist at Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen Breaches Thousands of Boxes

Police in Gelsenkirchen say a highly professional burglary at a Sparkasse branch in the Buer district resulted in the systematic looting of more than 3,000 safety‑deposit boxes, affecting roughly 2,700 customers. The break-in was discovered shortly before 4 a.m. on December 31, 2025, when a fire alarm summoned firefighters and police to the building and they found a hole in the wall leading into the bank’s vault room.

Investigators said perpetrators appear to have forced an exterior door and then used a large, powerful drill to bore through the concrete basement wall into the vault. Once inside, the attackers methodically forced open the safety‑deposit boxes and removed contents across the vault, a scale of destruction that authorities described as rare and unusually thorough. Police spokesman Thomas Nowaczyk said investigators believe the theft could be worth between €10 million and €90 million and added that he had "never heard of any similar case, except on TV."

Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen informed customers on its website that "Unfortunately, you must assume that your box has also been broken into" and warned that "more than 95% of the customer safe deposit boxes were forced upon by the as‑yet‑unknown perpetrators." The bank closed the branch the following day; media accounts said about 200 customers showed up demanding access and answers.

The financial magnitude of the theft remains uncertain. Each safety‑deposit box carries a default insurance threshold of €10,300 unless customers purchased higher private cover, which means the insured baseline for the breached boxes is at least about €31 million. Authorities cautioned, however, that many customers store valuables well above default limits, so total losses could be substantially higher than the baseline coverage suggests.

Authorities have said there were no immediate arrests. Investigators are examining the drilling techniques, the decision by the perpetrators to trigger an alarmed entry point, and any forensic and CCTV evidence that might point to organized criminal networks or cross‑border links. The combination of oversized power tools and precise, systematic access to the vast majority of boxes has led police to treat the incident as a sophisticated, coordinated operation rather than an opportunistic burglary.

Local and national officials face urgent questions about bank branch security and the adequacy of protections for customers who rely on safe‑deposit boxes for high‑value items. For affected customers the immediate priorities are inventorying losses, filing claims under the bank’s and private insurance policies, and obtaining documentation for police investigations.

This theft has raised fresh concern over how criminals may be testing vulnerabilities in physical banking infrastructure even as cybercrime dominates headlines, and it underscores the challenge for regulators and institutions to safeguard tangible assets. Gelsenkirchen authorities said inquiries are ongoing and pledged to provide updates as forensic results and follow‑up leads develop.