tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19742842017155494252024-02-20T05:29:22.167-08:00Heist NewsChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-75346812624644339172023-04-22T20:23:00.003-07:002023-04-22T20:23:57.307-07:00Toronto Airport Gold Heist<p> The exact taken is unclear but a cargo container holding a large amount of gold was stolen from Toronto airport. The BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65328968">says $15 million</a> while the CBC <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gold-heist-pearson-airport-toronto-1.6817345">says $20 million</a>.</p>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-79038940354719800342022-10-20T10:03:00.002-07:002022-10-20T10:03:40.562-07:00Thieves use mini-drone to open bank door<p> DroneDJ <a href="https://dronedj.com/2022/10/07/dji-mini-drone-atm-theft/">reports</a> that thieves in Reims, France used a DJI mini-drone to open a door to an ATM lobby that couldn't otherwise be opened from outside.</p><p></p><blockquote><p>What was strange about the crime was that the police found no trace of a break-in; neither the safe nor the entrance door of the premises showed any signs of vandalism.</p><p>When the CCTV footage of the ATM was reviewed, a mini drone was immediately detected. The video showed a skillfully piloted aircraft being used to trigger a push button that would open the door of a technical room next to the ATM.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>The criminals got away with 150,000 Euros.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-89236023260091584752022-05-09T18:13:00.000-07:002022-05-09T18:13:04.145-07:00Interview with a getaway driver<p> The Drive has <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/news/44744/americas-most-notorious-jewel-thief-breaks-down-the-perfect-getaway-car">an interview</a> with former jewelry store robber and driver Larry Lawton (who seems to have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/LarryLawtonJewelThief">a YouTube channel</a>). Lawton explains how to choose an appropriate getaway car.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>All were simply rented from a company like Hertz under somebody else's name with Lawton listed as the co-driver. They were picked up as normal and simply returned when the job was done. Lawton and his accomplices would pay for the car, case the store they planned to rob, and then use it in the actual robbery.</blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-3986069868700070682021-05-06T12:38:00.000-07:002021-05-06T12:38:30.909-07:00Rédoine Faïd - French Escape Artist<p> GQ magazine has <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/worlds-greatest-jailbreak-artist-redoine-faid">a profile</a> of Rédoine Faïd a French criminal and prison escapee who was inspired by crime movies.</p><p></p><blockquote>A notorious thief—the architect of a flurry of dazzling heists and blockbuster robberies in the 1990s that targeted banks, jewelry stores, and armored cars—Faïd became more infamous still in 2013, when he blasted out of the Sequedin prison, near Lille, where he'd been serving time after a botched robbery, using smuggled explosives. </blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-82771220990806142592021-03-30T18:27:00.009-07:002021-05-05T07:38:02.845-07:00Failed Texas Thieves Escape in Bayou Boat<p> ABC13 <a href="https://abc13.com/rienzi-museum-of-fine-arts-heist-buffalo-bayou/10425430/">reports</a> that thieves tried to rob a museum in Royal Oaks, Texas. After being discovered they fled in a bayou boat and then escaped into the city's storm drain system.</p><p>Followup: Illicit Cultural property also has <a href="http://illicitculturalproperty.com/art-museum-intruders-escaped-by-boat-last-night-in-houston/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IllicitCulturalProperty+%28Illicit+Cultural+Property%29">a post on the failed heist</a> with a few links to other articles.</p><p style="text-align: right;">via JRM</p>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-1096096486409942562020-09-23T09:21:00.000-07:002020-09-23T09:21:38.078-07:00Obit: Murph the Surf<p> The Los Angeles Times has <a href="https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2020-09-16/murph-the-surf-jewel-thief-star-of-india-dies">the obituary</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Roland_Murphy">Jack Murphy</a> (aka Murph the surf) a thief who in 1964 stole the Star of India from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.</p><p></p><blockquote>Murphy is best known for a daring heist in 1964 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he and other thieves used a bathroom window they had unlocked earlier to steal the famed Star of India sapphire — bigger than a golf ball — along with other precious gems.</blockquote><p></p><p>Murphy was arrested a few days later and spent two years in prison for the heist. The New York Times has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/natural-history-museum-jewelry-heist.html">a long article</a> from 2019 about the robbery which has a number of pictures.</p><p>Murphy was a champion surfer before the heist and owned a surf shop in Florida. </p><p><br /></p>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-1255663600435458682019-06-29T16:31:00.000-07:002019-06-29T16:31:42.371-07:00$1.1 Million in gold stolen from house near BellevilleWho says that you have to travel to an exotic location to pull off a major heist? <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/few-details-in-1-1-million-theft-of-gold">According to the Ottawa Citizen</a> $1.1 million in gold was stolen from a house in eastern Ontario.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
About $1.1 million in gold bars and coins and a further $4,000 in American currency were stolen, apparently in April, from a home in Cramahe Township. The rural municipality is between Brighton and Colborne.<br />“It’s kind of a bizarre situation,” said Northumberland OPP Const. Kimberly Johnston. “This type of theft is not something we come across every day.”</blockquote>
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-18644603781736378302019-03-04T10:21:00.000-08:002019-03-04T10:21:37.524-08:00Vjeran Tomic, French catburglarThe Atlantic has <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/14/the-french-burglar-who-pulled-off-his-generations-biggest-art-heist">a long article</a> about Vjeran Tomic a French art thief.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Tomic generally worked alone, scaling walls, leaping between rooftops, and picking locks. Once inside an apartment, he looked first for jewelry, because it was valuable and easy to sell. A burglary that took less than two hours often yielded enough cash to support him for six months on the French Riviera. In his letters, he recounted robbing various Parisian luminaries, including the French-Caribbean singer Henri Salvador and the Egyptian royal family. </blockquote>
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-78030936311385588772019-02-22T15:02:00.000-08:002019-02-22T15:02:02.973-08:00Armoured car attacked by diggersBoing Boing has <a href="https://boingboing.net/2019/01/02/thieves-use-giant-mechanical-d.html">a post</a> - mostly a series of tweets with pictures - about an armoured car in Italy that was stopped by thieves and then ripped open with two diggers. They got away with over 2 million Euros.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-22209887093480099652018-09-11T17:56:00.001-07:002018-09-11T17:56:49.508-07:00$100 million painting on back of bedroom doorIllicit Cultural Property has <a href="http://illicitculturalproperty.com/a-recovered-de-kooning-reveals-more-questions/">an article</a> about a $100 million painting that was recovered after the death of a couple from New Mexico. The painting was stolen, by an unknown couple, in 1985.<br />
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Also mentioned <a href="https://kottke.org/18/08/did-this-unassuming-small-town-couple-steal-a-160-million-willem-de-kooning-painting">on Kottke.org</a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-20112026805682185772018-08-07T17:24:00.000-07:002018-08-07T17:24:54.160-07:00Theft of Swedish Crown JewelsAccording to <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/world/royal-regalia-including-jewels-stolen-from-swedish-cathedral/wcm/1b598397-0413-49e2-8e05-f884223cbfbe">an article in the Ottawa Citizen</a> (also <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/thieves-steal-swedish-crown-jewels-153505310.html">Yahoo News</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45028732">the BBC</a> ) thieves smashed the case of a display holding the Swedish crown jewels and then fled the area in a waiting speedboat.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
On Tuesday, two thieves stole one 17th century golden orb and two crowns from a cathedral near Stockholm where they had been on display in an alarm-locked glass box, before escaping by speedboat into the Mälaren lake that spans 120 kilometres and is filled with hundreds of small islands.</blockquote>
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<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-82263580078480262432018-04-29T09:50:00.002-07:002018-04-29T09:50:33.254-07:00Houston Armoured Car RobbersTexas Monthly has <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-doting-father-who-robbed-armored-cars/">an article</a> about the ringleader of a gang of Houston based armoured car robbers.<br />
<br />
The gang were caught after police received, and paid for, an anonymous tip which named the leader. The police then spent months following the gang members waiting for them to strike. I think this illustrates the downside of the gang's particularly nasty technique of deliberately shooting the armoured car worker carrying the bags of money.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-53694406899054150652018-03-03T19:03:00.003-08:002018-03-03T19:03:37.045-08:00Convict escapes with tool dropped from droneUSA Today has <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/07/prison-officials-say-escaped-inmate-likely-used-wire-cutters-dropped-drone/459828001/">an article</a> about a criminal who escaped from prison using wire cutters dropped into the prison by a remote controlled drone.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
via <a href="https://yro.slashdot.org/story/17/07/10/0318240/state-prison-officials-blame-an-escape-on-drones-and-cellphones?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29">Slashdot</a></div>
Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-25923760972754147292018-02-02T15:52:00.001-08:002018-02-02T15:52:31.815-08:00Hatton Garden ringleaders ordered to pay backThe BBC <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-42880223?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central">reports</a> that the ringleaders of the gang that pulled the Hatton Garden heist have been ordered to repay GBP27.5m or spend more time in prison.<br />
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<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-88026679731745178682018-01-10T16:02:00.000-08:002018-01-10T16:02:33.642-08:00Ex-SAS robber caught because of dog hairThe Telegraph has <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/23/dog-hair-leads-arrest-ex-sas-man-suspected-french-chateau-robbery/">an article</a> about an ex-SAS soldier who was arrested for armed robbery after one of his dog's hairs was found at the scene. I can see how they might not have covered that in special ops school.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The former special operations soldier, who was named locally as Derek, was held by gendarmes after detectives traced all Britons in the area who owned a Jack Russell, Le Parisien newspaper reported.</blockquote>
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-83059098675104486352017-08-02T18:36:00.000-07:002017-08-02T18:36:58.443-07:00Brazilian gang take $40 million in armed robberyThe Washington Post has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/25/brazilian-prison-gang-suspected-in-paraguays-heist-of-the-century/?utm_term=.d049c7e81612">an article</a> about a very violent, large team robbery of $40 million from a transportation company in Paraguay. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18px;">Dozens of gunmen blocked highways, burned trucks and cars, sealing off the perimeter of their target for hundreds of yards. The assailants, who were wearing flak jackets and driving in armored vehicles, used explosives and .50 caliber guns to blow the facade off a transportation company office in Ciudad del Este, a town in Paraguay near the smugglers' haven in the border region with Brazil and Argentina. They killed a policeman, broke open the vault and then escaped -- apparently fleeing by motorboats up the Paraná River -- with millions of dollars.</span></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: right;">
via <a href="http://boingboing.net/2017/04/25/great-train-robbery-2.html">Boing Boing</a> </div>
Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-5560630420648302462017-02-16T18:26:00.000-08:002017-02-20T14:28:53.452-08:00Rare Book HeistThe Guardian has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/12/thieves-steal-2m-of-rare-books-by-abseiling-into-warehouse">an article</a> about a robbery of GBP3 million worth of rare books that were stolen by thieves who cut a hole in a warehouse roof and rappelled down to avoid sensors.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The gang are reported to have climbed on to the building’s roof and bored holes through the reinforced glass-fibre skylights before rappelling down 40ft of rope while avoiding motion-sensor alarms.<br />
Scotland Yard confirmed that “a number of valuable books”, many from the 15th and 16th centuries, were stolen during the burglary in Feltham between 29 and 30 January.</blockquote>
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Followup: Smithsonian.com has <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-rappelled-london-warehouse-in-heist-180962176/">a post</a> which links to several other articles about the theft. They also explain why the books were there:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The books were being temporarily stored in the warehouse on their way to the California Book Fair.</blockquote>
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-75319169175665267212017-01-20T13:43:00.000-08:002017-01-20T13:43:30.504-08:00Wired on the future of interrogationWired has <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/05/how-to-interrogate-suspects/">an article</a> on the science, and possibly the future, of interrogation.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-41856625496782508092016-12-17T17:26:00.000-08:002016-12-17T17:26:34.256-08:00"Legendary Jewel Thief" caught in AtlantaI'm not sure how one goes about being labeled a "legendary jewel thief" but according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/14/jewel-thief-doris-payne-arrested-atlanta-diamond-necklace?CMP=share_btn_fb">this article</a> in the Guardian, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Payne">Doris Payne</a> was one.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-89363909512817099812016-10-22T16:46:00.000-07:002016-10-22T16:46:04.778-07:00FBI closes DB Cooper investigationThe FBI <a href="http://komonews.com/news/local/fbi-officially-closes-its-investigation-into-famous-db-cooper-hijacking">has announced</a> that it is closing the 45 year old investigation into the DB Cooper hijacking.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-42100402903126465862016-03-13T15:17:00.000-07:002016-03-13T15:17:07.639-07:00Hatton Garden sentencesThe BBC has <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-35767110">an article</a> about the sentences in the Hatton Garden heist. Roughly seven years each though given the ages of the robbers that is probably a large chunk of their remaining lives. Around a third of the stolen fourteen million pounds has been recovered.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-964297608807430772016-03-08T13:37:00.000-08:002016-03-08T13:37:01.293-08:00More meta<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/03/why-we-all-dream-of-being-jewel-thieves.html">Another meta post</a> in the followup to Hatton Garden, this time from the Daily Beast.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-2740042849849526342016-02-26T09:51:00.000-08:002016-02-26T09:51:07.903-08:00The Future of HeistsThe Telegraph has <a href="https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1362/5848/6m/s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/Hatton-Garden-is-it-still-possible-to-get-away-with-a-heist/index.html">an article</a> about the future of heists in the wake of the Hatton Garden heist.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-9136432264686449102016-01-31T13:00:00.000-08:002016-01-31T13:00:19.932-08:00Caught rigging the lotteryBGR.com have <a href="http://bgr.com/2015/12/23/lottery-hacker-rootkit-stolen-numbers-investigation/">an article</a> about an insider who fixed the Multi-State Lottery. The interesting part from our point of view is how he got caught.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In 2012, lottery officials in Iowa grew suspicious when a New York
lawyer “representing a newly created trust” withdrew a claim for a $16.5
million jackpot after being asked to reveal who had initially purchased
the ticket.
Curious as to who in their right mind would turn down $16.5 million,
video of the winning ticket purchase was eventually released to the
public.</blockquote>
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1974284201715549425.post-80524916414859415882015-12-12T21:00:00.002-08:002015-12-12T21:00:18.411-08:00NYT on the Hatton Garden HeistThe New York Times has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/world/europe/london-hatton-garden-heist.html?_r=0">an article</a> about the aging thieves who pulled off the largest cash robbery in British history.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12259211814706201037noreply@blogger.com0