Heists in History

In 1963, a group of criminals stopped a Royal Mail train in the English countryside and stole over £2.6 million — worth many times more today. The robbers used a fake signal to stop the train and attacked the driver before unloading sacks of money. They escaped to a farmhouse hideout, where they were later found by police. Although many were caught, a few managed to disappear with their share. The robbery became legendary in the UK and inspired books and films.

In 1990, two men disguised as police officers entered a Boston museum and stole 13 works of art, including paintings by Vermeer and Rembrandt. The crime took just 81 minutes and remains the largest art theft in history. None of the artwork has ever been recovered. Despite many investigations and theories, the case is still unsolved. The museum keeps the empty frames hanging in place to mark the stolen pieces and remind visitors of the mystery.

Known as the 'heist of the century,' this 2003 robbery involved the theft of more than $100 million in diamonds, gold, and jewels from a vault in Belgium. The criminals used fake identities and rented office space near the vault for months to plan the crime. They disabled security systems, picked locks, and left barely a trace. The leader, an Italian named Leonardo Notarbartolo, was caught later, but the majority of the treasure was never found.

In 2005, thieves in Brazil dug a 78-meter tunnel from a rented house to a bank vault in Fortaleza. They posed as a gardening business to avoid suspicion while digging the tunnel for months. The group broke into the vault over a weekend and took about 70 million Brazilian reais (around $30 million at the time). The robbery shocked the nation due to its size and planning. Some gang members were arrested, but much of the money disappeared.

Over the Easter weekend in 2015, a group of elderly men — most retired criminals — broke into a vault in London’s jewelry district. They climbed down an elevator shaft, drilled through a two-meter-thick wall, and accessed safety deposit boxes full of jewels and cash. The total value was estimated at £14 million. Though several were caught and jailed, some valuables were never recovered. The heist drew attention because of the age and experience of the team.