Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s Spanish series ‘Bank Under Siege’ opens a window into a shocking heist that startles Spain. José Juan Martínez Gómez leads a group of robbers to the Central Bank of Barcelona, where eight hundred million pesetas are stored in a vault. The criminals enter the establishment and scare around three hundred individuals trapped inside the building. As the hours pass, José and his accomplices try to find a way to escape from the place with the money in the vault. The real-life robbery lasted a scary duration, leaving the officials in charge with bated breath!
The Robbers Failed to Leave the Central Bank With Any Money
One of the intriguing aspects of the robbery that happened in the Central Bank of Barcelona is the lack of adequate information. Even though the crime is infamous across Spain, there is a lack of clarity regarding many details concerning the case. This was what inspired writers like Mar Padilla to pen works such as ‘Asalto al Banco Central.’ This lack of clarity is also present regarding the money José Juan Martínez Gómez and his accomplices robbed from the Central Bank of Barcelona. According to several contradicting reports, the vault in the financial establishment contained around five hundred to seven hundred million pesetas, even though it is eight hundred in ‘Bank Under Siege.’
As per the information available, José and the rest of the robbers couldn’t take any money from the bank. In several interviews, the leader of the gang has explained that their initial plan was to disappear using an airplane arranged for them by the alleged mastermind behind the heist, Emilio Alonso Manglano, whose supposed involvement in the crime remains unverified to this day. José claimed that he grew suspicious of the plan, which made him look for an alternative escape route. The leader and his accomplices, reportedly along with a few hostages, tried to drill a hole through the wall of the bank to vanish from the place.
José’s plan was to disappear from the bank by entering Barcelona’s sewer system. However, since the wall was made of thick granite instead of concrete, they couldn’t move forward with the plan, especially since their drilling machines could not break down the rock. Soon, agents of the Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO) arrived at the bank, ready to intervene. When one of the robbers was killed, the others had to leave the establishment along with the hostages. The criminals were arrested right after their departure, meaning that they couldn’t disappear with any money. Even though one of the robbers escaped from the authorities, no available reports state that he ran away with any substantial amount from the bank.
Through his biography, José shared another story, which is also mentioned in ‘Bank Under Siege.’ According to the leader of the robbers, he hid a bundle of cash from the vault in the bank and retrieved the same after he was released from prison. The authorities or the bank hadn’t verified this claim.
The Robbery Lasted a Little Over a Day and a Half
The robbery in the Central Bank of Barcelona lasted thirty-seven hours. The heist began around 9.10 in the morning on May 23, 1981, with around three hundred hostages, who included the employees and clients/customers of the bank. Soon after the robbery was started, a few hostages were reportedly released. During this period, only one of the hostages was severely injured, which aligned with José Juan Martínez Gómez’s plans. He shot Ricard Martínez with the assurance that an ambulance would arrive to take him to a hospital.
As per José, the gang of robbers, including himself, treated the hostages well. He claimed that the people trapped in the bank could call their families and let their loved ones ensure their safety. A few strange occurrences happened between these thirty-seven hours, along with the negotiations with the authorities. One of the accounts states that the robbers piled up the money in the vault and threatened to burn it down. However, fortunately, seven hundred million pesetas were not set on fire. According to José, the robbery eventually ended when he became convinced that he would be dead after thirty-seven hours along with his accomplices.
Read More: Bank Under Siege Ending, Explained: What Was the Real Motive Behind the Robbery?
