To this day, the story behind the record-setting, mysterious bank heist that took place in Beirut decades ago still baffles all who study its impossible execution. The infamous heist of the 1976 British Bank of the Middle East is regarded as one of the biggest bank heists in history, and one of the most intriguing robberies ever, and here’s why.
It was 1976, the atrocious Lebanese Civil War had recently entered its 9th month, and the capital was split into East and West Beirut. Each side of the combatants was holding one side of the ravaged city, forming a demarcation line, called the Green Line, in between them, stretching from north to south.
Beirut’s financial center lay in the midst of the Green Line, and so did a bank that was worth around $300 million (about $2 billion in today’s terms); the British Bank of the Middle East (BBME).
The unguarded goods caught the attention of a group of robbers, who took advantage of the continuous fighting around the bank’s area to break into it and plunder its precious holdings.
The bank, which was located in Bab Idriss, shared a wall with a Catholic church. The robbers took advantage of this weak point and breached a hole through that wall, gaining quick access into the bank.
The heist was an outright military operation, in which the perpetrators fired 60mm mortar shells at the combatants of both sides to ignite the battlefield and create the perfect distraction for their plan.
Around 4 hours after entering the bank, the eight heavily-armed men successfully created a second hole through the massive, steel-reinforced vault inside the bank, where all the booty was stored. The group then loaded several vehicles with millions of dollars in stolen cash, jewels, stocks, and hundreds of 99.99%-pure, 12.5 kg gold bars. The robbers took what they took, drove away, and disappeared, seemingly forever.
Until this day, not one of the perpetrators has been caught, and none of the bank’s stolen assets have been recovered. The Beirut BBME heist remains the world’s biggest-ever bank robbery, according to Guinness World Records.
It also remains one of the most controversial and obscure bank heists in the world. This is because the robbers were unidentifiable individually and also anonymous as a group.
Also, not much is really known about its details because of the chaotic period in which it took place. There are several different versions of the story, each of which points fingers at different groups and organizations in Lebanon and abroad.
But no knows for sure what exactly happened except those involved? And like the gold the gems money a jewels they are like ghosts amigo.
Phantoms ghost lost behind smoke and mirrors with no daring enough to uncover the truth.
Crow
.)
