Criminals are believed to have exploited the calm of the Christmas holidays in Germany to carry out a daring bank heist, making off with cash and valuables worth at least 10 million euros from customers’ safe deposit boxes, police have confirmed.

Investigators said the suspects drilled their way through a reinforced concrete wall into the vault of a Sparkasse bank branch in the western city of Gelsenkirchen. Once inside, they reportedly forced open several thousand deposit boxes belonging to customers.

Police estimates, cited by Reuters, place the total value of the stolen items in the double-digit millions of euros. The timing of the operation appears to have been carefully planned, as most businesses and financial institutions in Germany shut down for the Christmas holidays from the evening of December 24.

Authorities explained that the burglary went unnoticed for days and was only discovered in the early hours of Monday, December 29, after a fire alarm was activated. Responding officers then found a large hole drilled through the vault wall.

Public anger quickly followed the revelation. On Tuesday, dozens of affected customers assembled outside the bank branch, shouting “Let us in!” while demanding clarity about what had happened to their possessions.

One distressed customer said he was unable to sleep due to the uncertainty, lamenting that no information had been provided. He explained that he had kept his safe deposit box for 25 years and stored his retirement savings there. Another customer disclosed that his box contained family cash and jewellery.

Attempts to obtain an immediate response from a Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen spokesperson were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, police disclosed that witnesses had reported seeing several men carrying large bags in the stairwell of a nearby parking garage on Saturday night. There were also sightings of a black Audi RS 6 driving out of the garage early Monday morning with masked individuals inside.

Further checks revealed that the vehicle’s registration number was linked to a car reported stolen in Hanover, over 200 kilometres northeast of Gelsenkirchen. Investigations into the high-profile burglary are still ongoing.