Breaking into cars through the door

Blackbag has an article about how thieves in the Netherlands have taken to cutting though the metal of the car door to disable both that alarm and locks.

Robbing ATMs with vacuum cleaners

The Sun reports that thieves in France have developed a method of using a vacuum cleaner to suck the money out of an ATM.

5 Major Artworks Stolen in Paris

Illicit Cultural Property has a post about the theft of 5 important works of art from the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris.

The value estimates are very rough, ranging already from 100-500 million Euro. Yet these works can never be sold in a legitimate market, so in one sense their market value means little.

Apparently, the gallery's alarm system was not working.

They also have a followup post on the reaction to the theft.

Much later followup: Three people have been arrested in the theft.
More: They claim to have thrown the paintings in the trash.

Thieves steal $75 million of pharmaceuticals

The Wall Street Journal has an article about some thieves who broke in to a drug warehouse and stole $75 million worth of drugs.

Brazen thieves cut a hole in a roof, slid down a rope and made off with $75 million in drugs from an Eli Lilly & Co warehouse in Connecticut during the weekend in one of the biggest pharmaceutical heists ever.

Working as if in an elaborate caper flick, the thieves disabled the interior alarm system and spent hours inside an Enfield, Conn., warehouse that stored antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs. Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza said the burglars likely loaded the dozens of wooden crates of prescription pills onto a tractor-trailer.

I was surprised at the value of what is essentially a warehouse robbery. I suppose you would need connections in order to unload the drugs.

Art of the Steal

Wired has an article (which appeared in a recent issue of the magazine) about a thief named Gerald Blanchard. He parachuted onto the roof of an Austrian castle and stole the $2 million Koechert Diamond Pearl.

The Times also has an article on the theft.

A High End Laptop Burglary

nj.com has an article about some Mission Impossible style burglars who hit a Best Buy in South Brunswick, New Jersey. The burglars cut a hole in the roof, descended on ropes and without touching the floor took $26,000 worth of Apple computers.

via Bruce Schneier

$3.2 Million Watch Theft

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a robbery in Tokyo where thieves broke through a wall and stole 200 luxury watches worth 300 million yen ($3.2 million).

via Bruce Schneier