17.01.2026 20:33
It has been announced that data from 11 million mobile phones will be examined as part of the investigation into a 300 million Euro bank robbery, the majority of the victims of which are Turkish customers in Germany. It was also learned that a large number of hair strands found in the safe room were taken by the thieves from a hairdresser and left to mislead the police.
In Germany, authorities took the first concrete step on behalf of customers three weeks after a 300 million Euro bank robbery, a significant portion of the victims being Turkish nationals.
MORE THAN 2,500 CUSTOMERS WILL BE INTERVIEWED
According to a statement from the Gelsenkirchen Police Department, individual interviews will be conducted with more than 2,500 customers who were victims of the robbery at the bank named "Sparkasse," which took place on December 27-28, 2025, starting from Monday, January 19. Due to the large number of victimized customers, a special office has been rented for these interviews, and it was stated that 230 police officers would be involved in the investigation.
Victims are requested to make appointments by phone for the interviews, and it is required that bank customers come alone to the police investigation office, bringing rental safe contracts, receipts for money and valuables, or documents proving ownership.
BASE DATA OF 11 MILLION MOBILE PHONES AND 8 TERABYTES OF VIDEO WILL BE EXAMINED
Authorities reported that approximately 11 million mobile phone base station data and about 8 terabytes of video recordings will be analyzed in the ongoing investigation. The police stated that a sorting room has been prepared in the bank's basement to determine which customers the numerous documents scattered around belong to, as the thieves scattered many documents while robbing the room containing personal safes.
THIEVES LEFT HAIR STRANDS TAKEN FROM A HAIRDRESSER AS FALSE EVIDENCE
Notable details have begun to emerge in the preliminary investigation regarding the robbery that took place in Gelsenkirchen during the Christmas holiday period. During the evidence collection process in the room containing personal safes, numerous hair strands belonging to different individuals were found. However, it was understood that these hair strands were taken by the thieves from a hair salon to mislead the police and intentionally left at the crime scene as false evidence.
It was also determined that during the process of drilling through the walls in the bank robbery, the thieves took precautions to prevent the cooling process and the dust generated from triggering the alarm system by transporting water from the bank's women's restroom to the safe room using a hose.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In Gelsenkirchen, Germany, during the Christmas holiday period from December 27-28, 2025, thieves took advantage of the extended holiday to enter the room containing personal safes at the bank named "Sparkasse," stealing millions of euros worth of money, jewelry, gold, and stocks. Initial investigations revealed that the thieves were professional, having carried out the robbery after extensive planning, were familiar with the bank's layout and the routes to the safe section, and escaped from the scene with two different vehicles. In the robbery, which was noticed on December 29 after the Christmas holiday, it was reported that the initial theft from 3,250 safes resulted in a financial loss of 30 million in the first phase, 100 million in the second phase, and ultimately reached 300 million euros.