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Mark Seal investigates the unorthodox daring of the perpetrators—and the high-tech investigation that snared them.
Jan 16, 2020 · 2. The Perpetrator Is The Hero. Crime stories are about cops, heists are about thieves. The protagonist must be the one pulling off the job. Take Point Break (1991) for instance. While the string of robberies seems ‘heisty’ our hero is Keanu Reeves, FBI. This ‘wet western’ is definitely a cult classic but it’s technically not a heist.
- North Hollywood shootout. Date: Feb. 28, 1997. Location: Hollywood, CA. Estimated heist amount: $1.2 million. This failed robbery and subsequent shootout is often cited as the basis for the heavy arming of local police departments with military-style rifles and equipment.
- Chelembra bank robbery. Date: Dec. 30, 2007. Location: Kerala, India. Estimated heist amount: $1.35 million. This Bank of Kerala heist took its inspiration from Bollywood film “Dhoom.”
- Iceland’s Big Bitcoin heist. Date: December 2017–January 2018. Location: Keflavik, Iceland. Estimated heist amount: $2 million, with potentially more collateral damage.
- Nigerian 419 scammers. Date: 2001-2018. Location: Worldwide. Estimated heist amount: $2.6 million. Now known colloquially as the “Nigerian Prince Scammers” or the “419 Scammers,” this worldwide gang of fraudsters crafted increasingly credible-sounding and well-informed emails to coerce the recipients into forking over cash via wire transfer, check, or loaded gift cards.
A perpetrator is someone who has committed a crime — or at least done something pretty bad. You've probably seen cops on TV trying to get a description of the perpetrator of a bank heist.
- Stealth Raid
- Walk Away
- Smash & Grab
- Subdue & Seize
- Deceive, Subdue & Seize
- Tiger Kidnapping
The Antwerp diamond heist was one of the largest robberies in history and it happened in one of the most fortified businesses in the world – the Antwerp Diamond Centre. What the thieves pulled off on the Valentine's Day weekend in Belgium in 2003 was of Mission Impossible proportions. They hacked into multiple security mechanisms including a lock w...
It was a regular day on the casino floor for Stardust Casino croupier William Brennan. Instead of taking a lunch break, he exited the building in plain sight. Wearing a backpack of cash and chips worth $US800,000, he passed the security guards on his way out. "He was never seen again," Jarret Lafleur said. William Brennan may have been the ultimate...
When you think of a daring heist, Hollywood has programmed us to imagine thieves landing via helicopter on a roof, stealthily lowering themselves down a pyramid skylight to a basement vault, emptying it and disappearing into the night. The crooks involved in the Vastberga Helicopter Heist of 2009 obviously read the same script. "There was one [heis...
Then there are the heists that rope innocent bystanders into the robbery. One of the most notorious was the robbery at the Brink's-Mat security depot near Heathrow airport in London in 1983. A gang of armed men entered the warehouse with the help of a security guard at dawn. Once inside they poured petrol over the staff and threatened them with a l...
Almost all high-value robberies involve deception, according to Jarret Lafleur. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist in 1990 was no exception. Two men posing as Boston police officers approached the art gallery after midnight. They claimed to be responding to a disturbance and convinced security to let them in. The phoney officers handcuff...
Just as a tiger stalks its prey before it strikes, so do some of the criminals behind some of the world's most notorious heists. Tiger kidnappings were adapted from Irish Republican Army (IRA) tactics in the 1970s. The gang behind the Northern Bank heist employed this strategy in 2004 when they abducted family members of two bank officials. The thi...
Great Train Robbery, (August 8, 1963), in British history, the armed robbery of £2,600,000 (mostly in used bank notes) from the Glasgow–London Royal Mail Train, near Bridego Bridge north of London. The 15 holdup men, wearing helmets, ski masks, and gloves, were aided by two accomplices—an anonymous.
Aug 29, 2023 · It refers to a specific type of theft that involves the unlawful taking of another person’s property with the intent to permanently deprive them of it. This crime is considered more serious than simple larceny due to the higher value of the stolen property or the methods employed by the perpetrator.
