The Danger Of Air Tube Cash Transfer Directly To A Safe

 The Vacuum Gang

It is amazing that some suppliers will still claim safes fitted with pneumatic cash tubes can have a cash rating based on accredited burglary resistance certification. 

In 2010, Paris Police were on the hunt for at least two men who were believed to be responsible for stealing thousands of Euro using nothing more than a domestic vacuum. A series of robberies took place at French Monoprix grocery stores which used a pneumatic tube system to deliver capsules of cash to the store's safe. 

The thieves had realised that the 65mm hole cut into the safe to accommodate the pneumatic tube was a specific weakness to the system which made bypassing security a simple matter. The men would disable the stores alarm and enter after hours wearing ski masks, then locate the safe and disengage the pneumatic tube. They would then use the 65mm hole in the safe to suck capsules of money directly out. With no leads and no information on who the robbers were, police had no way to track down the thieves the press had quickly dubbed the “vacuum gang.”  As of 2011, the vacuum gang had successfully stolen almost €700,000 in fifteen night-time heists, leaving only a few CCTV recordings of masked men for evidence. 

In 2016 I tried removing cash capsules from a supermarket safe fitted with an “anti-fishing baffle” using a long piece of hose, a weight, a small funnel, and a home vacuum. The funnel ensured the capsules would be gripped at either end, the change in suction indicating when a capsule had been grasped. A more powerful vacuum would have made things move a lot quicker but the principle was demonstrated.   

Remember, EN1143-2 is the European burglary resistance standard for deposit safes, and this standard will never appear on a safe fitted with a pneumatic tube. A deposit safe that displays this certification or the standard EN1143-1 is a modified unit and its certification is considered void due to the barrier material of the unit having been extensively breached.

Be informed, know the risks, protect your business. 

The Importance Of Accredited European Certification

Deposit safe standard EN1143-2

EU Parliament regulation 765/2008 created the system that provides the legal basis of accreditation for the burglary resistance certification of safes. The ultimate protection against misrepresentation and a legal proof of standard of burglary resistance, accredited European certification is the most important factor in maintaining insurance cover long term, as well as being the basis for all insurance rate recommendations in Europe. If you consider that 70% of safes tested for burglary resistance by accredited European testing labs fail on the first attempt the practical implications of accepting unaccredited claims of burglary resistance are obvious.

These are the logos of the four certification bodies with accreditation to ISO IEC17065 to certify safes to European standards you will most likely encounter on a genuine certification plate in Ireland.

A safe with properly accredited European certification as a deposit safe will display at least one stamped metal certification plate with one of these logos on the inside of the door. This will always be a stamped metal plate, never a sticker.

 For Free, Confidential Expert Advice Call: +353 1 7076011

Certified Safes Ireland™ in-house advisor on keeping jewellery, watch collections, goods, cash, documents and data, safe, secure, yet readily accessible, is Alan Donohoe Redd.

Alan Donohoe Redd is an expert member of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) Working Group responsible for writing European Standards for safes, strongrooms (vaults), secure cabinets and physical data protection for the European Union and an expert for U.S. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standards Technical Panel TC72 covering standards for fire resistance of record protection devices. Alan is also a registered NATO supplier and the longest standing member of the Frankfurt based European Security Systems Association (ESSA) in Ireland. 

Alan has a vast range of experience spanning over 40 years encompassing installation of safes, strongrooms, physical data protection, firearms security, secure storage of pharmaceuticals, security doors and equipment used for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) in government, military and I.T. sectors. He has provided advice to the U.S. Air Force (Europe), An Garda Síochána (Irish Police Service), the Danish Police, and for government projects concerned with high level cyber, physical data and counter electronic eavesdropping security.

An expert on standards and fraud issues related to secure storage in Europe, the UK, and the historical use of asbestos in UK and European safe and cabinet manufacturing, Alan has advised top UK and US law firms and has had articles on standards, fraud and safety issues published by The Law Society Gazette and Irish Broker Magazine as well as being pivotal in having misleading standards and practices recognised and withdrawn in Ireland, the UK and at a European legislative level. Alan has forced retractions of dozens of false claims related to secure storage offerings to the public including some published by the Irish Times in relation to Merrion Vaults and Lloyds of London.

Alan's seminars on safes, strongrooms and high net worth secure storage have been part of Continuing Professional Development for underwriters and insurers having been awarded CPD points by the Insurance Institute of Ireland and the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK).

 Alan's expertise has been relied on by:

N.A.T.O. Europe, The U.S. Air Force (Europe), An Garda Síochána (Irish police service), The National Treasury Management Agency (Ireland), The Department of Communications (National Cyber Security Centre) (Ireland), The Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland) The Revenue Commissioners (Ireland), Electricity Supply Board (Cyber Security) (Ireland), The Danish Defence Forces (Afghanistan), PayPal (Worldwide), Grant Thornton, The Insurance Institute of Ireland, The Chartered Insurance Institute (UK), The Royal College of Surgeons, BFC Bank, Interxion Data Centres, Isle of Man Gold Bullion, Brown Thomas, Bvlgari, Boodles, Druids Glen, The Shelbourne Hotel, and many others ....