The chief of the Los Angeles Police Department said that the burglars, who stole tens of millions of dollars from an armored truck depot in Sylmar during an Easter Sunday break-in, accessed the interior of the building through the roof before they entered the vault.
“It’s unclear how they accessed the vault itself inside the building. There were no obvious signs of entry into the vault,” said LAPD Chief Dominic Choi, raising questions about whether the vault was unlocked or someone involved with the break-in knew how to open it.
The burglary at the building on Roxford Street first reported to the LAPD around mid-day Sunday, March 31 is being investigated by the FBI as the cash facility is insured by the FDIC, police said.
The FBI declined to comment on the chief’s remarks.
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Several law enforcement sources told the I-Team the amount of cash stolen was "in the $20 millions," slightly less than the $30 million widely reported in early news accounts.
Choi confirmed publicly that the warehouse is owned by the Canadian private security firm GardaWorld that provides armored truck cash pickup services to retail businesses.
GardaWorld did not immediately respond to email or phone messages requesting comment on the burglary.
An LAPD crime report on the theft said the thieves made access to the building by “tunneling,” and a small section of an exterior wall on the building had been boarded-up or repaired, but it was not clear if the damaged wall was related to the burglary.
