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Crime

Armed robbers steal $15 million in Chile airport heist

March 9, 2020

A group of armed robbers stole more than $15 million in cash from an armored truck in the Chilean capital of Santiago. It was one of the biggest heists in the country's history.

Armored van at the Santiago de Chile airport
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Agencia Uno/F. Castillo

An armed group of between seven and 10 men stole €1 million ($1.2 million) and $14 million in cash from an armored truck at Santiago International Airport in Chile, police said.

The robbers, armed with rifles and pistols, arrived in the airport's cargo area in two vehicles and ambushed the truck, threatening the two security guards inside, according to police. The guards were injured in the heist.

The group managed to get away and police were in pursuit. 

The heist was one of the biggest in the country's history. In 2017, a cash shipment of $19 million was stolen from the offices of a transport company just outside the Chilean capital. Santiago Airport was also the target of a similar raid in 2014 worth $10 million, a heist that became known locally as the "theft of the country."

dv/rc (AFP, dpa)

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