Five crooks held up security guards at a Brazilian airport and drove off with a large stash of cash from a German cargo plane. Brazilian media say the criminals only took six minutes to pull off the heist.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F.von Erichsen
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Thieves stole $5 million (€4 million) in cash from a Lufthansa airplane at freight airport near the city of Sao Paulo, Brazilian police said late on Monday.
Authorities are yet to arrest anyone in connection with the robbery, which occurred the day before.
The Lufthansa plane was stopping over at Viracopos airport when the incident occuredImage: Viracopos/divulgação
What happened:
The Lufthansa jet landed at Viracopos, Brazil's largest freight airport, from nearby Guarulhos airport in Sao Paulo. The plane was stopping over before flying to Zurich, Switzerland.
The robbers drove a pickup truck plastered with the logo of a local security company into the airport grounds.
Five of the robbers held up guards from the security company Brinks, loaded the money on the truck and drove off, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
The heist lasted six minutes and none of the guards were hurt.
Brazilian problem: Freight theft has risen in recent years in Brazil, particularly in and around the city of Rio de Janeiro. Most thieves have however targeted semi-trucks rather than airplanes.
Bank robbery tunnel thwarted by police
Motivated criminals in Brazil dug an enormous tunnel in an attempt to grab hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/P. Lopes
600 meters of digging
A criminal gang dug a 600-meter (2000-foot) tunnel in an attempt to rob 1 billion reais ($318 million, €270 million) from a bank. They were thwarted by police shortly before completing the heist.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/P. Lopes
Rental home
The tunnel entrance was in a nook in a rental house. The 16 participants pooled their money to pay for the tunnel, reaching about $1.27 million, police alleged.
Image: Reuters/P. Whitaker
The descent
The tunnel was accessed through a 2 meter-deep ladder. The tunnel itself was about 1.5 meters high, was reinforced with iron beams and wood and lined with plastic, and was even wired with lights.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/P. Lopes
Fully stocked
The rental house was filled with food, water, special clothing and digging tools. The gang had spent four months digging the tunnel.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/P. Lopes
Failed heist
Police arrested the gang members and a court ruled they should be held ahead of their trial.
