Overview
- The vault in the Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen-Buer branch remains sealed as a crime scene pending formal clearance by the public prosecutor.
- Police report roughly 500,000 items have been sorted with about 50,000 pieces retained, after weeks of shift work by the Soko "Kernbohrer" task force on special sorting lines.
- Authorities are discussing initial returns focused on personal documents and business records that are unlikely to hold traces, though any item with evidentiary value will be withheld.
- The branch has reopened for regular business, and the bank is documenting losses with customers; February appointment slots are fully booked, with submissions also accepted by email.
- Investigators say thieves entered from a parking garage and drilled through a wall, and reports describe efforts to erase traces with acid; BILD reports an unconfirmed 46-hour presence and a roughly €300 million haul.