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Journalism of Courage
Criminals working in cells around the world stole 45 million in December and February by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and making withdrawals from ATMs,U.S. prosecutors said Thursday,making for one of the biggest bank thefts in history. Some other notable heists in recent years:
_ 2006,London: Thieves take the equivalent of 92 million from a cash depot.
_ 2005,Fortaleza,Brazil: Thieves take 70 million from Central Bank over a weekend.
_ 2004,Belfast,Northern Ireland: Irish Republican Army holds families of bank employees hostage and steals 50 million.
_ 2003,Iraq: 900 million in U.S. bills and as much as 100 million worth of euros is taken from Iraq Central Bank in thefts blamed on members of Saddam Hussein8217;s family.
_ 1992,Toulon,France: Robbers strap a bank security guard with dynamite and lead him to the Bank of France,where safes are emptied of 30 million.
_ 1987,London: 65 million is stolen from Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Center.
_ 1984,Rome: 21.8 million is stolen from Brink8217;s Securmark.
_ 1983,London: Gold worth 37.5 million is stolen from a warehouse.
_ 1983,North Miami,Florida: Two masked gunmen steal gold worth as much as 11 million from a smelting firm.
_ 1983,London: A gang makes off with 10.5 million in bank notes from Security Express.
_ 1983,London: Nine certificates of deposit worth 15 million are stolen from the Bank of Sepah-Iran.
_ 1982,South Africa: Thieves steal 13 million in precious metals from Rustenburg Platinum Holdings Ltd.
_ 1982,New York City: Two men break into the Sentry Armored Car Courier Co. office and take 11 million.
_ 1978,New York City: 5.8 million in cash is stolen from a Lufthansa Airlines vault at Kennedy Airport.
_ 1976,Beirut: Robbers take 20 million to 50 million from safe deposit boxes at the British Bank of the Middle East.
