Global InformationNOKAS robbery information
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| NOKAS robbery | |
|---|---|
 Site of the NOKAS robbery | |
| Location | Kongensgate, Stavanger, Norway |
| Date | 5 April 2004 8 AM (UTC+1) |
| Target | NOKAS cash depot |
Attack type | Bank robbery, shootout |
| Weapons | AG-3 battle rifle
AK-47 assault rifle MP5 submachine gun M1 Carbine .45 ACP pistol |
| Deaths | Arne Sigve Klungland (police lieutenant) |
| Injured | 0 |
| Perpetrators | 13 people |
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.[citation needed] 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.