Hollywood-style helicopter raid on Swedish cash depot
Chopper recovery – after the gang ditched it
The company that owns a cash depot targeted in a daring helicopter raid this week said Friday it is offering a reward of more than $1 million for information about the heist.
G4S said it is offering up to 7 million Swedish kronor ($1.01 million) for information leading directly to the arrest and conviction of the offenders or the recovery of the stolen money…
The company did not disclose how much money had been lost, but the thieves could have gotten as much as the equivalent of several millions of U.S. dollars, according to CNN affiliate TV4.
A group of heavily-armed thieves used a helicopter early Wednesday to land on the roof of the cash depot in Vastbarga, Stockholm, which serves automatic teller machines all across the capital.
They used explosives to get into the building, witness Bjorn Lockstrom told TV4, and later hoisted bags of money to the waiting chopper.
The thieves had also placed a bag marked “bomb” outside the police heliport, meaning Swedish police couldn’t immediately pursue the thieves because they had to first deal with the bag.
TV4 later reported that the bag never contained a bomb.
The thieves had also blocked the roads around the cash depot with metal spikes.
Newspaper and TV Talking Heads criticized the coppers for not opening fire on the helicopter as it lifted off the building – in the middle of Stockholm.
Well, duh! Disabling the chopper or not, there would have been a serious likelihood of shooting up a chunk of the city, as well.
Disabling the chopper or not, there would have been a serious likelihood of shooting up a chunk of the city, as well.
Not necessarily. There are plenty of open spaces in and around Stockholm. 16 years ago, a JAS Gripen fighter crashed during an air show in Stockholm. Even though it was during a festival, no-one was killed or injured by the falling plane.
Jägermeister
September 26, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I thought about that; but, apparently, the only chance at a shoot-em-out was in the district where the cash depot exists. I looked it up on Google Earth and it’s chock-a-block with homes and all the urban delights.
If for example you were firing northeasterly, a good chance the rounds that didn’t hit anything would come down in the city, as well.
I think the coppers used their social smarts.
eideard
September 26, 2009 at 4:27 pm
There’s a fair amount of places with no buildings in that area (the area is mainly commercial buildings… which are fairly empty at night).
Jägermeister
September 26, 2009 at 5:27 pm