Real Expert Bank Robbers Escape Through Secret Tunnel | Daring Capers S2 EP5

[Music] in germany an elaborate bank robbery ends in a standoff with police the lives of 16 hostages hang in the balance investigators would soon learn that nothing is as it seems in 1989 the fall of the wall impacted the city of berlin in unexpected ways the promise of a free market economy flooded out and immigrants flooded in but skyrocketing unemployment greeted newcomers who found the rewards of capitalism painfully out of reach a native of syria he had been working in radiology at a berlin hospital in 1993 he was released from prison on a drug dealing charge and couldn't find work desperate for cash and with nothing left to lose he formulated a brilliant plan that would net millions he would rob the richest bank in zelendorf a wealthy suburb of berlin a plan this complex would require help khaled recruited his brothers muzaffar and mutaz as well as his close friend durgam ibrahim [Music] like khaled the men were all out of work although it would take months of careful planning they were eager for a share of the tank [Music] on june 27 1995 when everything was in place the men put their plan into action at 10 25 a.m the peaceful town of zelendorf was about to become the subject of international headlines employees and customers were caught off guard as the gang stormed the lobby unnoticed a teller triggered the silent alarm the police were on their way bettina was in the bank at the time when the robbers entered the bank they shouted at us to get down on the floor we were frightened everyone got down immediately [Music] or overpower the gunman i kept my mind occupied so i wouldn't panic the bank director was secured in his office the gunman had special plans for him at precisely 10 30 a.m police arrived at the zelendorf bank effectively trapping the robbers robbers who now held 16 hostages martin texter supervised the scene our first task was to close off the area completely we were afraid the robbers would flee and we wanted to make sure nothing happened to endanger the hostages in less than 20 minutes nearly a hundred police in bullet proof vest surrounded the bank and evacuated the immediate neighborhood armed officers checked all avenues of escape including a storm drainpipe some 30 meters away [Music] it seemed kaled's robbery had gone horribly wrong trapped inside colette's only means of escape was to try and negotiate at 11 am khaled released a hostage with a list of demands he asked for a car a helicopter and a sizeable ransom he gave police six hours to meet his demands they feared that after that the gunman might start killing hostages the robbers demanded 17 million marks which was an impossible sum given we gathered as much money as we could and hoped it would be enough the freed hostage filled police in on the number of hostages left inside the number of gunmen and the type of weapons she'd seen the list was intimidating [Music] two pump guns shotguns 10 russian fragmentation grenades a self-loading pistol storming the building was not an option police could not risk a firefight with hostages inside instead texter and his men continued to play by the book they tried to open up negotiations with the hostage takers [Music] it made it difficult that we couldn't talk at all with the robbers it made it impossible to judge their mood it seemed colette wasn't playing by the rules and police were running optimistic police would give them the helicopter as a means of escape the men began looting the bank safety deposit boxes by the time darkness fell around 7 p.m the deadline came and went the police were still racing to meet the gang's demands we have monster we prepared for a pursuit in the event the robbers tried to drive away we got the helicopter in place as they requested all of this took time at 8 pm nearly 10 hours into the standoff khaled told police through the bank manager he would wait no longer he said unless their demands were met soon they were going to start shooting hostages whenever we asked the bank's director for any information the line went dead so we really didn't have a clue about what was going on inside the bank [Music] to show he meant business khaled put the intended victim on display police started making concessions they gave the gang a partial payment all the money they could gather in exchange for more time at 9 30 pm nearly 12 hours after the standoff began two unarmed police officers approached the bank collette had ordered them to deliver 5.6 million deutsche marks nearly two and a half million dollars wearing only their underwear [Music] gunfire suddenly erupted inside and the bank went dark when we heard the shots i was immediately afraid they had shot one of the hostages police fear that in not meeting colette's demands they have made a deadly mistake in berlin police feared a hostage scenario at a prominent bank had turned deadly the news media crowded the scene awaiting word of the 15 remaining hostages at 1am the robbers informed police that the hostages were alive they had simply shot out the lights although they were reassured anxious hours would pass without further word from the gunman [Music] police feared for the hostages lives they knew they could not wait much longer nearly 17 hours since the standoff began police received a call from inside the bank the bank manager told them it had been almost two hours since he'd last seen or heard from the captors it was the lull the swat team unit had been waiting for spitzerland within when officers convinced me that they could storm the bank in a short time and with a relatively low level of risk for the hostages i gave the go-ahead at 3 30 a.m they stormed the bank not knowing if it was a trap the police treated everyone like a suspect we couldn't be sure that the robbers hadn't mixed themselves in among the hostages we had to assume that the gunman could be anywhere the hostages were cleared of suspicion and removed from the building police believed they'd soon have the gang cornered but as they carefully moved from one darkened room to the next they found nothing but plundered safety deposit boxes it seemed as if the gunman had simply vanished into thin air taking millions of deutsche marks with them it would take them over an hour to solve the mystery the police had been the victims of an elaborate ruse the gang had escaped beneath their very feet and we even had the sanitation department send the sewer plans for the area and we saw that the closest pipe was 30 meters away it never crossed our minds they could tunnel out in the tunnel police found the captors discarded masks weapons and overalls but not a trace of evidence to help them identify the robbers [Music] it appeared the gang had gotten away with the perfect crime the following day news of the daring heist spread throughout the country as police were trying to piece together the scanned clues the press marveled at the clever robbery those who lived through the ordeal were angered the criminals were made into heroes though no one was physically harmed the mental torture was long-lasting reporter covered the story of the guys many of the hostages suffered from nightmares and insomnia one woman said that she thought this is it for me i'm going to die here police asked the hostages for help in identifying their captors [Music] the men always wore masks and seldom spoke [Music] they hadn't left any clues not even a [Music] fingerprint tools found in the tunnel were untraceable the minivan they had used in the robbery had been stolen the night before the bank estimated the loss at four million deutsche marks the 5.6 million marks police handed over brought the total to 9.6 million marks or 4.3 million dollars police surmised it must have taken months to build the elaborate tunnel which extended from the bank to a nearby storm drain pipe and on to a nondescript garage some 200 meters away the crooks had to have transported tons of dirt an operation this size was sure to raise suspicions in the neighborhood neighbors revealed they'd seen three men driving the same car in and out of the garage several times a day garage owner told police that he rented the garage to a man almost a year and a half ago he assisted a sketch artist with a likeness it turned out the renter's business card had both a fake name and address composite sketches of the three men were publicized in newspapers and on television nothing happened police set up a hotline for the public to call with information about the robbery again nothing happened [Music] after two weeks of getting nowhere the bank offered a one-half million deutsche mark reward only then did hundreds of leads pour in over 400 in a matter of days [Music] one of the calls led police to a syrian immigrant named mohammed al-kharmi isn't yet hefted for the bank during the course of a three and a half hour interview alkami broke down and admitted his involvement in the heist the most uh although he had not been one of the gunmen he had helped build the tunnel and transport the loot in exchange for a deal from prosecutors he broke all confidences and revealed the name of the gang's leader khaled albarazzi khaled had developed an ingenious plan but he needed more than the help of his family to make it a reality that's why he recruited unemployed men he barely knew like al carme to help dig the tunnel with enough manpower in place the gang started making real progress but it would be more than a year before they could put their plan in motion the men dug around the clock to avoid detection they dumped truckloads of dirt outside the city collette carefully thought through every aspect of his plot he obtained plans for the city's sewers and storm drains he designed the tunnel to connect with a drain pipe about halfway to the bank saving the men months of digging less than a meter in diameter it stopped only 30 meters from their target as the men dug the last 30 meters cave-ins and flooding slowed their progress but their desperation kept them burrowing closer and closer to the bank after 18 months of non-stop digging the tunnel stretched over 200 meters it ended less than a meter from the back floor [Music] with all the hard work behind them the gang was ready to move from outside the selendorf bank branch police were convinced they were dealing with a robbery gone amazon inside khaled's plan worked like clockwork the police played into his hand at every turn indeed while police were scrambling to save the hostages khaled and his men were inside the bank feeding them sandwiches colette had thought of everything as a bank robber he was as thorough as he was considerate planned for the long wait and by drawing out the bargaining game with police for over 16 hours he and his gang bought themselves enough time to loot the safe deposit boxes and exit the bank while the gang members moved bags of cash through the storm dream the police were still trying to devise a plan to end the standoff [Music] back at the garage and safely outside the police perimeter the men split some of the money they hid the rest al karmi made it home in time to see the final chapter of the standoff play out on tv [Music] the nation's fascination with the story only added to the sense of having pulled off the perfect crime [Music] but the intricate plot crumbled when al qarmy the outsider gave up his new friends days after al carmi's confession undercover agents tracked down and arrested khaled and his brothers two other suspected gunmen were picked up the following day still the police needed evidence to prove their involvement while the men were being questioned investigators searched their homes they found evidence that their suspects had been spending a great deal of money lately and there had been some big ticket items on their shopping list the suspects who were all unemployed had gone out and purchased luxury cars police had the gang in custody but they still hadn't recovered the money they got a tip it was still in germany in the attic of a syrian dentist there they found a suitcase containing 3.6 million deutsche marks the dentist also led them to an additional 1.4 million deutsche marks stashed in two bank accounts the following year alkali and the men who turned in went to trial they didn't have the kind of criminal psyche that it takes to withstand tough questioning at trial on april 16 1996 al carmey confessed to his role in the heist his cooperation won him a six-year prison sentence khaled al-barazi received 13 years for masterminding the heist despite his careful planning he had not counted on al qarmy's betrayal the rest of his gang was also sentenced police have never recovered all the money stolen from the zelendorf safety deposit boxes millions of hidden deutsche marks may await the release of a gang of small-time bank robbers with a very big plan

Channel: Wonder

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Keywords: Wonder, wonder channel, fight to survive, craig de martino, survivor, survivial videos, survival stories, i shouldn't be alive, i shouldn't be alive full episodes, wonder i shouldn't be alive, outdoor channel, keefer brothers, dropped, trapped, inspiration, human interest, only human, real stories, inside edition, true crime asmr, wonder world channel, true crime and makeup, wonder i shouldnt be alive, human interests, i shouldnt be alive, true crime youtubers

Id: VWQ3gqW5IYA

Length: 24min 35sec (1475 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 21 2020