2004 bank robbery in Stavanger, Norway
On 5 April 2004, at 8 AM the Nokas Cash Handling (formerly Norsk Kontantservice AS or NOKAS) in Stavanger, Norway was raided by heavily armed men. It was the biggest-ever heist in Norway.
Although the police had intelligence that a raid was expected in the coming days, they were understaffed and unprepared because of Easter, a national holiday in Norway. That morning, a bulletin was issued warning the NOKAS depot was a possible target.
Equipped to hold off the police, the gunmen wore bulletproof vests, helmets, ski masks, gloves and overalls, and were armed with automatic weapons and a .45 ACP pistol. Much of their equipment was military property from Madla Military Camp. The gunmen undertook extensive means to delay a police response while the NOKAS depot was attacked. The Stavanger Police HQ was blocked by a burning truck on the vehicle exit, smoke grenades were thrown at the front of the building and spike strips were spread across the road to burst the tires of police vehicles.
The raiders planned to gain access through a window overlooking a courtyard at the centre of the office block, believing it would not be adequately protected as it was an old building. The raid was to last 8 minutes if all went to plan but it all began to unravel as it became clear the bank was protected by bullet-proof glass. To break the window, first a sledgehammer and a battering ram were used and then 113 shots were fired at the window with automatic weapons. During this time the employees escaped before seven gunmen finally gained access to the ground floor of the NOKAS building.
Outside, several gunmen held positions on Cathedral Square at the front of the bank. When the police arrived, shots were exchanged with the gunmen. Police Lieutenant Arne Sigve Klungland was shot dead. The perpetrators escaped with 57.4 million kroner (~US$10 million) in national and foreign currencies, making it Norway's largest-ever robbery. Of the total, 51 million kroner are still to be recovered.
The 37 NOKAS employees received compensation worth a total of nine million kroner due to the trauma they suffered during the robbery.
This story is the basis for a movie titled "Nokas", which premiered on 1 October 2010.
Preparation.
David Toska, an Oslo native, was the ring leader of the NOKAS gunmen. His accomplices were former inmates, school friends and recent acquaintances. He began to plan the raid on the NOKAS cash depot in November 2003, after a contact described the building to him and what seemed to be a blind spot in the building's security. Living in Skjeneholen with his girlfriend and newborn son, he rented a flat near Stavanger used as a rendezvous point for him and his accomplices to prepare and dress for the raid.
Police warning.
It became clear during the trial that police had intelligence warning that a heist was expected. Officer Arne Hammersmark gave an account of the following points in his testimony:
Added to this, several key elements had gone underground and rumours were rife they had taken up residence in the Stavanger area.
Security had also observed possible surveillance of the Nokas office and transport vans.
Timeline.
5 April 2004
Investigation.
After investigation, police charged 13 people in connection with the robbery. On 12 April 2005, David Toska confessed to having participated in the robbery, but denied shooting Klungland. David Toska, considered the ring leader, is also charged with the robbery of the Union Bank at Bryn, Oslo, and the robbery of the Post mail centre, in 2003. Johnny Thendrup (40) admitted to being the robber shot during the robbery.
Kjell Alrich Schumann admitted two years later that he had fired the shot that killed officer Klungland.
Police found DNA on the towels and mattresses used to burn the lorry outside the police station. Ironically, in an attempt to kill two birds with one stone (to delay the police and to destroy vital evidence) the perpetrators delivered proof of their involvement to the front door of the police station.
Officer Erik Haaland was submitted to internal investigation to ascertain whether he was right to shoot first. It concluded he was.
Trial.
The thirteen men involved in the NOKAS robbery were convicted and sentenced to a total of 181 years in prison on 10 March 2006. David Toska was given the longest sentence, with 21 years in jail. On 19 January 2007, the Court of Appeal confirmed the verdict for twelve of the thirteen men. The thirteenth, Thomas Thendrup, was acquitted by the jury. However, Norwegian appeal law allows the presiding judges to overturn the jury's decision. Hence, the three judges overturned the jury's acquittal and ordered a retrial, causing huge controversy and public debate on the current justice system in Norway. Thendrup was convicted and sentenced to 14 years on 13 September 2007.
On 29 June 2007, the Norwegian Supreme Court added a cumulated 27 years in prison.
Ikmet K, claims his innocence for the robbery. He admits that he was in Stavanger but that he was closing a drug deal at the time of the heist. In the media, he stated that he "got the right sentence, but for the wrong crime."
The case is assumed to have cost the Norwegian state 160 million NOK.
In the 10 years from 1994 to 2004, Norwegian police fired some 79 shots; 48 of these were fired during the NOKAS robbery in 2004.
Perpetrators.
Of the thirteen defendants, twelve were found guilty of the crime in January 2007. Thomas Thendrup was found guilty in September the same year.
Film.
In 2010, film director Erik Skjoldbjærg released a film on the NOKAS robbery.
The film shows a very confused situation where the police engage in a firefight with the gunmen before having the square locked down, while civilians freely wander around the square and buses are still circulating between the police and the gunmen.
Notes.
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