The FBI and Los Angeles police are looking into a brazen theft of about $30 million in cash after it appears that robbers opened a safe and broke through the top of a money storage facility.
The crime, which happened on Easter Sunday in the northern neighborhood of Sylmar, is one of the biggest cash thefts in the history of the city, according to David Cuellar of the Los Angeles Police Department.
According to a source familiar with the inquiry, The Los Angeles Times, the robbers got past a sophisticated security system by breaking through a roof and into the building's vault.
The publication stated that personnel had opened the vault on Monday when they discovered the sophisticated and intricate robbery, which seemed to be the work of an experienced group.
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"It's just mind-blowing that you would never suspect it," an anonymous facility employee told ABC News.
"$30 million in the Valley, gone. How? Why? I'm still trying to process it. Was it an inside job? Was it just one person? Was it a group? You know, there's a lot of questions."
While the crime resembles Hollywood heist movies like "Ocean's Eleven," it follows a string of real-life, sophisticated break-ins in the region over the years.
Two years ago, while traveling to a gem and jewelry show in Los Angeles, a truck stopped at a rest area on the highway. It had gems valued at up to $100 million.
In July of last year, a man broke through the ceiling of an upscale wine shop near Venice Beach, taking advantage of rare Bordeaux and Burgundy vintages valued at $600,000.
According to the LA Times, the largest cash theft in the city's history occurred in 1997, when $18.9 million was taken from an armored depot. Eventually, the robbers were apprehended.
