Photo: Myanmar (Burma), Mandalay division, Bagan, old historic capital, gems. Photo: Stefane LeMaire, Hemis.fr/Getty Images.
The successful heist is an art all its own. Undoubtedly an illegal one, but that does not change the facts. To pull it off, one must have a flawless strategy, mastering the challenges of timing, the intricacies of security, and, perhaps, above all—the wherewithal move goods that are too hot to put on the black market. Crave has compiled a list of the top five unsolved heists, looking back at the feats of human ingenuity in the name of greed.
Also: Check Out The FBI’s Top 10 Art Crimes!
Bode Art Museum, Berlin. April 22, 2016. Photo © Diego Delso. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
How to Rob a Museum
Just last week, on March 27, one of the largest gold coins in the world, weighing a staggering 220 pounds and valued at $4.5 million, was stolen from the Bode Museum in Berlin. The Canadian coin, which goes by the name “Big Maple Leaf,” was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for its purity of 999.99/1000 gold. Although its face value is $1M Canadian dollars, its gold content is estimated to be six times that number.
The heist occurred at 3:30 a.m. Police suspect two thieves used a ladder scale the back of the museum, broke a window, then carted the coin off in a wheelbarrow. Police have no leads, and it’s likely the coin will never resurface as it’s too difficult to resell. More likely it will be melted down and sold off on the open market.
A 1972 FBI composite drawing of D. B. Cooper, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
How To Steal a Plane
On November 24, 1971, D.B. Cooper (not his real name) hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 while the plane was in flight from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington. Thirty minutes into the flight, he informed a stewardess he had a bomb and demanded $200,000 (equivalent to $1.18M), four parachutes, and a refueling truck upon landing in Seattle.
The plane landed and Cooper got his cash. He released the passengers, then ordered the plane back in the air. The pilots set a course for his destination: Mexico City, but Cooper never arrived. Thirty minutes into the journey, he strapped on a parachute and jumped to freedom. Cooper was never found. His identity remains unknown. Despite all work done by the FBI, this remains the only unsolved case of air piracy in commercial aviation history.
However, in January of this year, scientists announced that they have new information in the case, having analyzed particles removed from the clip-on tie he left behind, according to USA Today. The scientists made the announcement in the hopes that the public could lend a hand in the investigation, even though the FBI officially closed the case as unsolved last year.
View from a footpath near Ledburn, Buckinghamshire over the West Coast Main Line, towards ‘Sears Crossing’ where robbers took control of a mail train during the Great Train Robbery of 8 August 1963. Photo: Sealman. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
How to Rob a Train
The Great Train Robbery has become an icon of popular culture ever since it took place in the early hours of August 8, 1963. A gang of 15 men, led by Bruce Reynolds, attacked a Royal Mail train headed from Glasgow to London as it crossed the Bridego Railway Bridge in Buckinghamshire, England—stealing a $3.24M (equivalent to $61.24M today).
The gang had rigged the track signals to stop at this remote location in order to stage the heist. Remarkably, the gang was unarmed but they did beat Jack Mills, the train driver, over the head with a metal bar. The gang hid out but we eventually caught and prosecuted, with the ringleaders being sentenced to 30 years in jail. The money was never recovered. But the legend lives on in books, television, and film.
Armored car. New York, Times Square, 2005. Photo © Stanislav Kozlovskiy. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
How to Rob an Armored Car Depot
In the wee hours of September 12, 1997, Allen Pace, who worked as regional safety inspector for Dunbar Armored, staged a heist of some $18.9M (equivalent to $28.2M today) from the company’s Los Angeles facility. He recruited five of his childhood friends for the job, and used his inside knowledge to complete the job.
Everything down to the last detail was perfect, except just one thing. They used a U-Haul and the taillight lens fell off at the scene. The FBI tracked the rental down and prosecuted the crew. Allen was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Less than half the money was recovered.
Harry Winston Paris. Photo © Ralf Treinen. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
How to Rob a Jewelry Store
Harry Winston. The name evokes visions of diamonds, rubies, sapphires—oh my! Invariably, jewels have always appealed to the criminal mind. In 2008, the Paris store was the site of a smash-and-grab robbery, as four men and women entered the store and stole almost everything at gunpoint. The heist has been valued at more than $100M, making it one of the largest jewelry thefts in the world.
Eight men were arrested; ringleader Douadi Yahiaoui was sentenced to 15 years in prison while others were sentenced to a mere nine months. Although $19M worth of jewelry was eventually recovered from the drainpipe in a Paris suburb, the bulk of the heist remains at large.
Miss Rosen is a journalist covering art, photography, culture, and books. Her byline has appeared in L’Uomo Vogue, Whitewall, The Undefeated, Dazed Digital, Jocks and Nerds, and L’Oeil de la Photographie. Follow her on Twitter @Miss_Rosen.
