$7.7 million stolen from western German customs office

According to police, the three drilled through a cellar wall in the customs office from the neighbouring building and were able to make off with the money, which was stored in so-called safe bags. The van used in the getaway had Kleve license plates, police said..

German authorities on Wednesday offered a 100,000-euro (USD 118,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of a group of burglars who made off with 6.5 million euros (USD 7.7 million) in cash from a customs office near the Dutch border earlier this month. A witness reported hearing a loud noise on Nov. 1 at the customs building in Emmerich am Rhein at around 6 a.m., and then seeing three darkly-dressed men with black caps loading a white van nearly five hours later.

Another similarly clad man was seen in the area and a witness took his photo, which police in nearby Kleve published along with the reward details. According to police, the three drilled through a cellar wall in the customs office from the neighbouring building and were able to make off with the money, which was stored in so-called safe bags.

The van used in the getaway had Kleve license plates, police said..