Thieves steal $30 million from vault in Easter heist, leave without a trace

In a heist of Biblical proportions, thieves pilfered about $30 million cash from a Los Angeles-area vault on Easter Sunday – and no one even noticed the empty vault until the next morning.

The burglary took place Sunday night at the GardaWorld facility in Sylmar, which handles cash for several businesses in the area, sources told Eyewitness News.

The thieves were so stealthy that the safe showed no signs of a break-in from the outside – and the operators of the business were none the wiser until they opened it on Monday, the Los Angeles Times said.

The thieves accessed the facility through the roof and managed to avoid setting off any alarms when they got into the money storage area, officials familiar with the investigation told Eyewitness News.

Footage of the facility on Wednesday showed what appeared to be a gaping hole on the side of the building with a pile of debris next to it – though it was unclear if that damage stemmed from the break-in, the outlet said.

Very few people would have known how much cash was stored at the nondescript facility, the LA Times noted.

The elaborate scheme was likely executed by a seasoned crew of burglars, sources told the paper.

This is reminiscent of another SoCal vault heist - the United California Bank robbery on March 24, 1972, in Laguna Niguel CA, where the criminals also accessed the building from the roof, and the alarms were disabled. They cleared out the vault containing the safe deposit boxes.

Wikipedia

Broeckel helped inside the vault to bust open safe deposit boxes. Christopher played a key role in disarming the alarm. The total stolen was estimated at nearly $9 million. The gang gained entry to the vault by using dynamite to blast a hole in its reinforced concrete roof.

This year is the 52nd anniversary of that robbery.

Wikipedia

Broeckel helped inside the vault to bust open safe deposit boxes. Christopher played a key role in disarming the alarm. The total stolen was estimated at nearly $9 million. The gang gained entry to the vault by using dynamite to blast a hole in its reinforced concrete roof.

This year is the 52nd anniversary of that robbery (1972 + 52 = 2024).

Sylmar took on massive damage from the San Fernando earthquake - February 9, 1971. This robbery occurred a span of 52 days from the anniversary of the earthquake.

Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the city of Los Angeles. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past to the 18th century and the founding of the San Fernando Mission. In 1890, olive production was begun systematically. The Sylmar climate was also considered healthy, and so a sanitarium was established, the first in a series of hospitals in the neighborhood.

more on the earthquake

The event affected a number of health-care facilities in Sylmar, San Fernando, and other densely populated areas north of central Los Angeles. The Olive View Medical Center and Veterans Hospital both experienced very heavy damage, and buildings collapsed at both sites, causing the majority of deaths that occurred.

An event taking place on Easter Sunday, the day commemorating Jesus' resurrection - in a town “Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards;” reminiscent of the biblical Mount of Olives, of Jesus - and the time of his betrayal, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.

Several key events in the life of Jesus, as related in the Gospels, took place on the Mount of Olives, and in the Acts of the Apostles it is described as the place from which Jesus ascended to heaven. Because of its association with both Jesus and Mary, the mount has been a site of Christian worship since ancient times and is today a major site of pilgrimage for Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants.

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