Berlin Bank Looted Via 150-Foot Tunnel
Police are hunting for a suspect after a 147-foot underground tunnel was used to launch an audacious raid on a Berlin bank.
The thief or thieves tunneled into a vault at the Berliner Volksbank in the Steglitz district of Berlin from an underground garage nearby, and looted the entire contents of multiple safety deposit boxes. Police do not yet know the value of the heist, as the boxes contained personal valuables that customers are not required to identify to authorities.
Police say the crime is the work of a "professional", and reckon work may have started on the tunnel as early as February last year.
The Berlin police have published a composite image of one suspect, who eyewitnesses say is around 6 foot 3 inches tall, heavily built and between 30 and 40 years old. Prior to the heist, he was seen in dirty working trousers and work boots near the car park.
The heist is thought to have occurred after the bank closed for the weekend. A security guard raised the alarm on Monday morning after noticing smoke coming from the vault. Police believe the tunnel was deliberately set ablaze to hide any evidence.
-By CNBC's Katy Barnato with contribution from Bianca Schlotterbeck and Maria Sovago
