great bookie robbery
Great Bookie Robbery
Date: 1976
The Great Bookie Robbery was a calculated heist that took place at the Victoria Club on Queen St in Melbourne’s CBD. To this day nobody has been convicted and none of the $6million plus in stolen cash has been found.
The heist was reportedly carried our by a crime gang of six men who used an office space above the Victoria Club to systematically plan the robbery and hide the cash. They were disguised in repairman uniforms to avoid suspicion.
It took the gang just over 10 minutes to pull up in their getaway transport, ambush 31 hostages and transfer the cash to bags after using bolt cutters to remove padlocks from cash boxes and making an easy getaway before authorities were alerted.
One security guard was injured in the robbery. The gang used handguns and high powered rifles as weapons. Remarkably Police were never able to gather enough evidence to truly apprehend the culprits though it was commonly speculated who the men were.