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The World’s Biggest Heists Of All Time

Posted by Brian Wallace on May 18th, 2012 // No Comment

What’s an action movie without a suspenseful heist? We’ve all seen the movies like Ocean’s Eleven, where the characters plan out an elaborate robbery and they always succeed and get away scot-free. However, have you ever thought, “Does this happen in real life?”

Well, it does and this infographic presented by homesecuritysystem.com highlights some of the worlds biggest heists, and not just the typical, measley bank robbery.

One of the biggest heists was $100 million in diamonds, gold, jewelry and other spoils and occurred at the Antwerp Diamond Center. The vault that held the precious jewels was thought to be impenetrable. Yet, police still have no idea what happened and the loot was never found. Wouldn’t you love to be those guys?

The biggest heist of them all? The Central Bank of Iraq. Approximately $1 billion was stolen. The general manager of the bank claimed that the robbery was not connected to Saddam. However, a note was later discovered that was signed by Saddam that ordered $920 million to be withdrawn and given to his son, Qusay. Later, $650 million was found hidden in the walls of Saddam Hussein’s palace by US troops but the rest is still unaccounted for.

So what about treasures other than jewels and money? Another one of the biggest heists included art as the loot. This heist occurred at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The thieves dressed in police uniforms (cliché I know) and claimed to be investigating a disturbance on the property. Once inside, the thieves tied up the guards and locked them in the cellar. It took them 81 minutes to acquire their goodies. The artworks have still not be returned to the museum and the case is still open.

So now when you’re watching a movie with a heist you will remember this infographic and that it does happen in real life and they actually get away with it. But don’t get any ideas, you might not be so lucky.

What’s the craziest heist you’ve heard about or seen in a movie or on TV? Please let us know in the comments below.