Few crimes rival high-profile, multi-million dollar heists when it comes to the amount of sheer planning, creativity and sheer insanity that goes into them. Whether it's the work of teams of highly trained thieves, low-level bank managers, or a powerful dictator, here are ten of the biggest and weirdest heists and heists in history.
1. The Great Train Robbery
The robbery took place in Buckinghamshire, England, when he boarded a mail train carrying millions of pounds. A team of 15 robbers. The thieves used a false signal light to stop the train and, after subduing the workers in the first two cars, loaded 120 mailbags containing £2.6 million into some of the cars they hid near the tracks. The men all fled the scene, but 13 of them were quickly apprehended following an extensive investigation by Scotland Yard. Wilson was captured in Canada four years later, but Biggs famously evaded capture by hiding out in Brazil, where he was only caught when he surrendered to authorities in 2001.
2. Agricultural Bank of China Robbery
In 2007, the Agricultural Bank of China Robbery resulted in the theft of 51 million yuan (about US$7 million), said to be the largest heist in Chinese history. The scheme began when bank manager Ren Xiaofeng stole 200,000 yuan from the teller. His improbable plan was to use the money to buy a large amount of lottery tickets in hopes of winning the prize money and returning it before it was reported missing. Surprisingly, the plan worked and Ren made a huge profit from the gamble even after returning the 200K. After enlisting the help of another manager, Ma Xiangjing, Ren went on to steal about 33 million yuan a year and another 18 million yuan a month after that. Ren and Ma were eventually caught, but thanks to the astronomical sums the duo spent on lotto tickets, very little of the stolen money was ever recovered.
3. The Great Brinks Robbery
When committed in 1950, the $2.7 million Brinks Robbery in Boston, USA was the largest heist in American history. Dubbed the "Crime of the Century," the robbery was the work of an 11-member gang that used copied keys to break into the Brinks building. Once inside, they made their way to the cashier's room and, after subduing the armed guards, collected $1.2 million in cash and another $1.5 million in checks and securities. The gang's plan was to sit on the money for six years, when the statute of limitations for armed robbery would expire, but a police investigation quickly began to find suspects. After several men were arrested, the criminals turned on each other, even going so far as to hire goons and attempt to shoot suspected snipers. Eventually, all eleven of the original robbers were discovered and arrested, and many were sentenced to life in prison.
4. The Gardner Museum Art Heist
In the biggest art heist in history, two men dressed as police officers managed to break into the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston one night in 1990. Once inside, the men accosted several guards on duty, tied them up and left them in the basement. They then proceeded to steal several works of art by Rembrandt, Degas, Manet and Vermeer, as well as several sculptures and historical works. The total haul is now estimated at $500 million, but both the thieves and the artworks have yet to be found. A number of possible suspects have been considered, from Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger to the IRA, but no arrests have been made in the case. Enough time has passed that the statute of limitations on the actual heist has passed, and the Gardner Museum art heist ranks as one of the most successful and mysterious heists of all time.
5. Central Bank of Iraq Heist
For the sheer amount of currency stolen, no heist can compare to the Central Bank of Iraq heist said to have been carried out by none other than Saddam Hussein. The theft took place in 2003, shortly before the US bombed Iraq. In the middle of the night, a small group of people led by Husayn's son Gusay went to the Central Bank with tractor trailers and forcibly withdrew less than 1 billion dollars. . About $650 million of this was eventually found hidden in the walls of Hussein's palace by US soldiers.
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