2009 was an eventful year. In January took office Barack Obama as president after George Bushthe crown princess Victoria and prince Daniel got engaged, Alexander Rybak won Eurovision and Christer Birdsong was in space for the second time.
But the question is whether the most widely written event of the year – at least in Sweden – was the spectacular helicopter robbery in Stockholm. On September 23 at 05:18 a stolen Bell 206 Jet Ranger landed at the G4S value depot in Västberga. Four men jumped out, smashed an atrium window and then blew up several doors. Not a single shot was fired during the robbery.
A stolen helicopter landed on the roof of the G4S valuables depot in Västberga. Image source: Police preliminary investigation protocol/TT BildHere, through the glass ceiling, the robbers entered. Image source: Police preliminary investigation protocol/TT Bild
The robbers got in through this window. Image source: Pontus Lundahl/TT Bild The plan was that the robbery would take 15 minutes to complete. Instead, it took 31 minutes. At that time, the robbers managed to get away with SEK 39 million. Image source: Police preliminary investigation report/TT Image The money has never been found. Image source: Police preliminary investigation protocol/TT Bild
To prevent the police from interrupting the robbery, they had placed a dummy bomb at the police helicopter base on Värmdö. The men’s plan was to carry out the robbery in fifteen minutes, but it took twice as long before the robbers could escape with their loot: SEK 39 million.
Money that has never been recovered.
The police helicopter was never able to take off, as the robbers had placed a dummy bomb at their only helicopter base. Image source: Pontus Lundahl/TT Bild
The following year, ten men were charged for their involvement in the helicopter robbery. Seven of them were convicted – including Safa Kadhum and the pilot Alexander Eriksson – who received eight years in prison each. Three people were completely cleared of all suspicion.
Safa Kadhum was one of the men convicted of the helicopter robbery. Image source: Fredrik Persson/TT Bild The pilot Alexander Eriksson was also sentenced. Image source: Police/TT Bild
Today, the helicopter robbery is time-barred and everyone who was convicted has served their sentences. Four of the robbers have given their version of the lead-up to the crime and what happened that morning to the author Jonas Bonnierwho in 2017 released the novel Helikopterrånet. He met the robbers one by one, and sometimes all four.
– It was fascinating to meet them. For example, they all speak in a particular way, a habit from the time when they could not reveal anything; they don’t use pronouns, talk only about themselves, never mention places. Sometimes it was even a little difficult to keep up with what they meant, then I had to bring all four together to understand the sequence of events, Jonas Bonnier told in an interview with Gothenburg Post.
Jonas Bonnier. Image source: Jonas Ekströmer/TT Bild
The film rights were quickly sold, but actual filming did not begin until March 2023. The script is written by Ronnie Sandahl and the eight-part miniseries has been directed by Daniel Espinosa.
Fifteen years after one of Sweden’s most spectacular crimes of all time, it premiered on Netflix.
In the roles we see, among others Mahmut Suvakci, Ardalan Esmaili and Danish Vic Carbut Sonne. The series Helikopterrånet has been praised by critics and has become a huge hit with viewers.
READ MORE: Unknown connection between Mahmut Suvakci and the helicopter robber
From left: Producer Ronnie Sandahl, actor Mahmut Suvakci, director Daniel Espinosa and actor Ardalan Esmaili. Image source: Pontus Lundahl/TT BildAndy Blanco tattooed the helicopter robber
Perhaps it is precisely the authenticity that has made viewers embrace the Helicopter Robbery series. One such detail is the tattoo of Ardalan Esmaili’s character Michael do. The real perpetrator also got the same tattoo. A sleeve with the motif of the robbery. He did the tattoo at Andy Blancowho runs his own studio Studio Blanco Tattoo on Södermalm in Stockholm.
Tattoo artist Andy Blanco. Image Source: Private The real-life helicopter gunman got this tattoo on one of his arms. Image source: Private
You tattooed the real robber. How did you come up with the motif?
– Yes exactly! Everything was allowed to develop naturally. What ends up at the top of the upper arm usually becomes the “heading” of the sleeve, it is the first thing that catches the eye. In this case, it felt obvious to choose the helicopter in connection with the characteristic glass pyramid for that location, says Andy Blanco to News24.
The helicopter that the men used in the robbery against the G4S valuables depot in Västberga. Image source: Yvonne Åsell/SvD/TT Bild
Andy says that in the process they bounced ideas back and forth, and he was then given free rein to interpret the design.
– There was a lot of geeking out with the details, choosing the correct model of the helicopter, looking up old flyers and articles as reference material. We went “all in” trying to maximize it as much as possible. It is a unique project to have had to do in many ways, says Andy Blanco to Nyheter24.
Tattooing the robber’s entire arm took eight to nine full days spread over a few months.
Detail of the sleeve that the robber has tattooed. Image source: PrivatNot just any port. The detail from the robber’s real tattoo is the entrance to the Stockholm District Court on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. Image source: Private
Stockholm district court on Scheelegatan in Stockholm. Image source: Oscar Olsson/TT Image Detail from the tattoo where the motif represents the helicopter robbery in Västberga in 2009. Image source: Privat Tattooing the entire arm took almost nine full days. Image source: PrivatArdalan Esmaili’s tattoo in Helicopter Robbery
Before the Helicopter Robbery series, how did it feel to recreate the tattoo again?
– It was a lot of fun to do and nothing I’ve done before! The biggest challenge was to recreate it in new dimensions so that it would end up equivalent to the original fixed on a new arm. Got to play tailor at the beginning and take as accurate measurements as possible from actor Ardalan Esmaili’s arm to then be able to use it as a template.
Andy Blanco tattoos Ardalan for the Netflix series Helicopter Robbery. Image source: PrivatArdalan shows off the tattoo they did for the series. Several viewers have reacted that it looks so real, but it is not. Image source: Private
Although Andy Blanco had saved most of the original images, basically everything had to be redrawn. In total, the drawing job itself took 20 hours.
– Some parts of the original sleeve are freehand directly on the skin with a pen, other parts were more difficult to recreate due to blurry reference images such as those from the surveillance cameras, for example. Overall a complex project to “unfold” a tattoo into one big image, but like I said, fun and learned a lot along the way!
Several viewers have found the tattoo on Ardalan Esmaili to look so authentic that they thought it was real. But – that is not the case. Thanks to the makeup artists and makeup artists Jessica Svensson and Anders Bratas so the tattoo got new life and could look so real and lifelike.
READ MORE: The pictures show what the helicopter robbery looked like in reality
Andy Blanco with actor Ardalan Esmaili and makeup artist Jessica Svensson Reis. Image source: PrivatAndy Blanco tattooed Ardalan’s character Michel for the series Helikopteranet on Netflix. Image source: Private
Was any change made from the original tattoo?
– Actually just that it was reversed when it ended up on the opposite arm, the goal was for it to be as similar as possible, Andy Blanco tells Nyheter24.
What does the man with the original tattoo think about his tattoo being in the series?
– He thinks it’s fun and is something we talked about before, says Andy Blanco to Nyheter24.
READ MORE: The helicopter robbery: Are they convicted today and where is the money?