Does the name Thomas Randele ring any bell? Well, he was the man who became part of shows such as America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. He had investigators chase leads all over the country.
Federal marshals say he was Theodore John Conrad, who managed to pull off one of the biggest bank robberies in Cleveland’s history, and it took 52 years for the marshals to guess his true identity. It makes us think, what are the topmost daring heists worldwide that would put the celluloid versions to shame?
The Central Bank of Iraq robbery
A robbery in Baghdad became one of the largest bank heists in history and reports say that the mastermind was a famous dictator. Before the Iraq War in 2003, he sent three large trucks to the Central Bank.
He even sent his son a handwritten note to ask him to withdraw almost $1 billion to keep the money safe from the enemy hands. His accomplices scooted away in vans. While the cops could recover most of the cash, there is no news on coming off the loot.
The Dar-es-Salaam Bank Heist
Although we know very little about the 2007 robbery, the loot occurred at a private financial institution in Baghdad, Iraq. Several bank guards went on to carry the theft. The robbers made away with $282 million in cash and are still at large. There is still an enduring mystery about the theft and how the thieves infiltrated through the various checkpoints across Baghdad.
The Knightsbridge Security Deposit Robbery
There were over 50 cases of armed robberies in Italy. Valero Viccei was one of the wanted criminals in the world. He almost managed to commit a near-perfect crime in London in 1987. Valero and his assistant walked into a bank, asking for a safe deposit box. The thieves stripped the safe-deposit boxes of $97 million.
When the men saw the vaults, the robbers brought out their guns in true film-like style and overpowered the bank officials and the guards. Quietly and systematically, they let in a few more accomplices and opened as many deposit boxes as possible, and went away with the loot without a trace. However, the cops found him in South America and shipped him to England.
The Securitas Depot Robbery
No wonder it turned out to be one of the largest cash robberies in British history. The place in question was at a security services company’s warehouse in Kent. The men wore elaborate masks and kidnapped the branch manager, even holding his family hostage. The robbers with the elaborate masks stole at least $83 million.
The robbers took him to the warehouse and forced him to part with the money. They also forced him to open the cages. The elaborate masks, however, failed to save them from the cops. The makeup artists who were the mastermind behind the masks gave away the robbers.
The Banco Central Burglary
The 2005 Banco Central burglary in Fortaleza, Brazil, even made its way to the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s greatest bank robbery. This one was as ingenious as it gets as the robbers played the role of the landscapers and dug a tunnel to make their way to the vault. They successfully stole away $71.6 million and made them a part of the most daring heist history.
They were a group of 25 men who set up a landscaping business. This helped them dig a 256-foot long tunnel to link to the bank’s vault floor. They stole several containers which had 160 million Brazilian worth of money. Most of the men went scotfree. But the cops managed to nap eight of them and recover $20 million. What happened to the rest of the loot remains a mystery.
The Brink’s-Mat Burglary
It was Britain’s one of the most notorious bank heists, and they stole $41 million. As with the case of most heists, it was an inside job. In this case, Anthony Black, the security guard who let the robbers into the company’s warehouse at the Heathrow Airport, London.
The crew ran into a bit of luck as they found that the warehouse had more than just money. It also had gold and diamonds. They tied up the guards there. However, the cops could not find the gold despite catching the robbers.
What do you think of these heists? Arent, they the most daring you have ever heard of?