The Lufthansa Heist
History Daily
History Daily
4.4 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 11 December 2024
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
December 11, 1978. A group of masked men rob a Lufthansa cargo building, making off with millions in cash and jewelry. This episode originally aired in 2023.
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Transcript
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| 0:20.4 | Music It's December 11, 1978, a little after 3 a.m. at JFK International Airport. |
| 0:32.7 | Ufftanzah employee Kerry Whalen is on his way back from a late-night delivery. |
| 0:38.6 | He drives his car past warehouses for different airlines until he reaches his destination, cargo building 261, where |
| 0:44.3 | Lufthansa stores its most valuable items. Carrie is one of just a handful of employees that work |
| 0:50.3 | the night shift here, making sure that everything runs smoothly. |
| 0:56.0 | And it's been a quiet night so far. |
| 1:00.3 | But as Carrie approaches the back of the building, he sees something strange. |
| 1:05.1 | There's a black van idling there, with two men sitting in the front seat. |
| 1:07.9 | Carrie doesn't recognize the van or the men. |
| 1:12.1 | And sensing something is a miss, he drives toward the unfamiliar vehicle. As he approaches the van or the men, and sensing something is amiss, he drives toward the unfamiliar vehicle. |
| 1:18.2 | As he approaches the van on foot, two men spot him. They jump out of the car, shouting at Carrie to get into the van. Carrie tries to run and call for help, but the strangers are quicker. |
| 1:24.0 | One of them hits him across the face with a pistol knocking Carrie to the ground. Before he can |
| 1:29.1 | register what's happening, the men grab Carrie and toss him into the back of their van. A few |
| 1:34.2 | moments later, the van door shoots open again, and the men throw in another Luftanzo employee, |
| 1:39.3 | one who had come outside to investigate all the noise. But neither Carrie nor his coworker are kept in the van for |
| 1:45.6 | long. After a few moments, the two strangers dragged them out again and toward the cargo building |
| 1:50.9 | itself. Theildered and afraid, Carrie and his coworker have no choice but to follow orders. |
| 1:57.5 | They're led upstairs to the third-floor cafeteria. Waiting there are the rest of Carrie's |
... |
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