In a startling breach of security, burglars successfully absconded with approximately $30 million from a money storage facility in the San Fernando Valley, marking one of the most significant cash heists in Los Angeles history. The audacious theft occurred on Easter Sunday night at a GardaWorld-operated facility in Sylmar, a detail confirmed by law enforcement sources to CNN.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) are jointly investigating the incident, which has drawn comparisons to plotlines from thriller novels due to its sheer scale and the sophistication of the operation. Investigators are particularly intrigued by the burglars' ability to penetrate the building and vault without triggering any alarms, suggesting a high level of planning and possibly inside knowledge of the facility's security protocols.
The heist was discovered the following Monday when operators of the business opened the vault to find the staggering sum missing. The incident has left the community and authorities baffled, with Police Cmdr. Elaine Morales of the LAPD acknowledging the breach and the safe's compromise to The Los Angeles Times.
GardaWorld, the Canadian cash management and security firm under whose watch the heist unfolded, has yet to issue a formal response to inquiries about the incident. The event has attracted significant media attention, with numerous news crews stationed outside the facility, located in an industrial sector of Sylmar, roughly 20 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
This recent heist surpasses the previous record set in 1997, when $18.9 million was stolen from the Dunbar Armored Inc. facility, also in Los Angeles. Those suspects were eventually apprehended, a fate yet uncertain for the individuals behind this latest breach.
The theft has reignited concerns over the security of cash and valuables in transit and storage, especially in the wake of another major theft nearly two years prior, where up to $100 million in jewels and valuables were stolen from a Brink's truck at a Southern California truck stop, with the thieves still at large.
As the investigation continues, the FBI and LAPD are tight-lipped, providing few details amidst an ongoing and evidently complex probe into one of the city's most brazen criminal acts.
