The Northern Bank robbery

The Northern Bank robbery is regarded as one of the biggest bank robberies of all time. On the night of Sunday, December 19, 2004, groups of armed men raided the homes of two Northern Bank employees, one in Downpatrick, County Down, and the other in Poleglass, west Belfast. The robbers disguised themselves as police officers and broke into the homes of two bank managers. Their families were held hostage, and the managers were told to return to work the next day as usual.

The managers let the thieves into the bank at the end of the day. The robbers stole a total of £26.5 million, including £10 million in uncirculated Northern Bank pound sterling banknotes, £5.5 million in used Northern Bank sterling notes, £4.5 million in used notes supplied by other banks, and smaller cash amounts in other currencies such as euros and US dollars. The police quickly organized an investigation involving 50 detectives. "This was not a lucky crime, this was a well-organized crime," said Assistant Chief Constable Sam Kincaid. The case remains unsolved, and only one person has been arrested for money laundering so far.

Stolen: $41 million