So many elements of a great crime novel here!

 

  • A criminal mastermind known as “The Astronomer
  • Scotland Yard

  • Drilling holes in a skylight and then rappelling down to avoid motion detectors

 

From The Smithsonian,

 

Thieves Rappelled Into a London Warehouse in Rare Book Heist

The burglars made out with more than 160 books worth an estimated $2.5 million

 

 

“Do you remember that scene in the original Mission: Impossible when Tom Cruise hangs suspended above a computer? Well, it appears that criminals recently seem to have taken a page from Ethan Hunt’s spy book. Three thieves robbed a west London warehouse in late January by drilling holes in the building’s skylight, and then using rope to descend vertically into the space to avoid motion-detection alarms, George Sandeman at The Guardian reports. In total, the robbers made out with more than 160 books worth an estimated $2.5 million.

 

 

The theft was a precision hit; the burglars came well-equipped and appeared to know exactly what they wanted. They specifically targeted the boxes containing valuable rare books, with one source saying they compared the titles in the containers to a list, reports James Cook at Business Insider. The books were being temporarily stored in the warehouse on their way to the California Book Fair.

 

 

The rarity of the books would make them incredibly hard to unload on the open market, Cook notes, and investigators theorize that a wealthy collector known as “The Astronomer” may have hired the thieves to steal the books for him…”

 

 

Read the rest here.

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