On the morning of April 5, 2004, a group of heavily armed men carried out the largest armed robbery in Norwegian history. Their target was the NOKAS cash handling depot, housed in the old Norges Bank building on Kongsgata in central Stavanger. The robbery had been planned since November 2003 by David Toska, an Oslo career criminal who had learned about a blind spot in the building's security.
The gang chose Easter Monday deliberately. Police staffing was at a minimum for the holiday. The robbers wore bulletproof vests, helmets, ski masks and overalls, and carried automatic weapons. They did not just attack the depot; they systematically disabled the police response. A burning truck was parked across the vehicle exit of Stavanger Police headquarters, smoke grenades were thrown at the front of the building, and spike strips were laid across surrounding roads to burst police tyres.
At the NOKAS building, the gang tried to break through the bulletproof glass with sledgehammers and a battering ram. When that failed, they fired 113 rounds from automatic weapons until the glass shattered. They escaped with 57.4 million kroner in Norwegian and foreign currency. Over 51 million was never recovered.
Police officer Arne Sigve Klungland, 35, responded in his patrol car and drove toward the scene along Kongsgata. Near the Maritime Hotel, one of the robbers, Kjell Alrich Schumann, opened fire with an AG3 automatic rifle. Klungland tried to reverse but a bus blocked his escape. He was shot in the head and died shortly afterward. Schumann admitted to the killing two years later.
Ironically, the gang's own tactics helped convict them. DNA evidence was recovered from the towels and mattresses used to set the truck on fire outside the police station, effectively delivering proof of their involvement to the front door of the building they were trying to block.
Thirteen men were charged. Twelve were found guilty in January 2007, with the last convicted in September that year. The sentences totalled 181 years. Toska received 21 years, the maximum. After his release, he became a chess analyst on Norwegian television, a career move that generated its own controversy.
A feature film titled NOKAS was released in 2010, recreating the robbery almost minute by minute. A memorial marks the spot where Klungland fell, near Domkirkeplassen. The killing of a police officer during a robbery was almost without precedent in modern Norway, and the case changed how Norwegian police plan for armed response.
The gang chose Easter Monday deliberately. Police staffing was at a minimum for the holiday. The robbers wore bulletproof vests, helmets, ski masks and overalls, and carried automatic weapons. They did not just attack the depot; they systematically disabled the police response. A burning truck was parked across the vehicle exit of Stavanger Police headquarters, smoke grenades were thrown at the front of the building, and spike strips were laid across surrounding roads to burst police tyres.
At the NOKAS building, the gang tried to break through the bulletproof glass with sledgehammers and a battering ram. When that failed, they fired 113 rounds from automatic weapons until the glass shattered. They escaped with 57.4 million kroner in Norwegian and foreign currency. Over 51 million was never recovered.
Police officer Arne Sigve Klungland, 35, responded in his patrol car and drove toward the scene along Kongsgata. Near the Maritime Hotel, one of the robbers, Kjell Alrich Schumann, opened fire with an AG3 automatic rifle. Klungland tried to reverse but a bus blocked his escape. He was shot in the head and died shortly afterward. Schumann admitted to the killing two years later.
Ironically, the gang's own tactics helped convict them. DNA evidence was recovered from the towels and mattresses used to set the truck on fire outside the police station, effectively delivering proof of their involvement to the front door of the building they were trying to block.
Thirteen men were charged. Twelve were found guilty in January 2007, with the last convicted in September that year. The sentences totalled 181 years. Toska received 21 years, the maximum. After his release, he became a chess analyst on Norwegian television, a career move that generated its own controversy.
A feature film titled NOKAS was released in 2010, recreating the robbery almost minute by minute. A memorial marks the spot where Klungland fell, near Domkirkeplassen. The killing of a police officer during a robbery was almost without precedent in modern Norway, and the case changed how Norwegian police plan for armed response.
