Is The Helicopter Heist based on a true story? Swedish robbery explained

A startling real-life robbery served as the inspiration for the Swedish Netflix thriller THE Helicopter Heist.

A group of robbers stole the equivalent of 3.9 million dollars in 2009 when they flew a helicopter onto the top of a cash storage in southern Stockholm.

A meticulously-planned crime

The heist happened on September 23, 2009, at five in the morning.

In V Stberga, Stockholm, the bandits stole a Bell 206 helicopter and flew it to a G4S cash service building.

Safa Kadhum and three other people had to burst through the glass pyramid on the depot’s roof after Alexander Erikkson landed the chopper on the roof.

The group used tiny bombs to open the vault’s security doors once they were inside.

They loaded bundles of cash into the chopper and took off for safety.

The gang’s careful preparation prevented the cops from stepping in.

They forced the authorities to halt all of its helicopters after planting decoy bombs at a nearby police air base.

Caltrops, who were concealed on the road by the robbers, cut the tires of the police cars, preventing them from apprehending the gang as well.

The bandits had fled by 8:15 a.m., and their deserted chopper was found in a field outside the Swedish capital.

An international manhunt

Kadhum escaped to the Dominican Republic after the crime, but local police detained him at the Swedish government’s request.

He was unaware that DNA traces that matched earlier records kept by the authorities had been discovered at the scene.

In 2000, Kadhum was sentenced to two years in prison for robbing the Swedish National Gallery of two Renoir paintings and one Rembrandt artwork.

After being apprehended by a Swedish police special operations squad in the Canary Islands, Erikkson was also taken into custody.

Later, it was discovered that the Serbian government had alerted the Swedish police about the heist nearly a month in advance.

However, the information had not been acted upon promptly by the authorities.

Kadhum was the only one to enter a guilty plea, while the other conspirators were all imprisoned.

He claimed that one of his creditors, to whom he owed money, put pressure on him to participate in the plan.

The police made an effort, but they were unable to recover any of the money that the robbers had taken.

The Helicopter Heist

The dramatic robbery of the V Stberga cash depository is portrayed in the Netflix series The Helicopter Heist.

Mahmut Suvakci portrays Kudham (who is named Remi on the program), while rising Swedish talent Erik Svedberg-Zelman plays the gang’s pilot Alexander Erikkson (who is called Axel on the show).

You may now stream the suspenseful series.

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