It might sound like the plot to a major Hollywood movie starring George Clooney, but it actually happened. Officials in Paraguay are dubbing the crime the “Robbery of the century,” after a gang of 50 criminals, suspected to be from neighboring Brazil, used explosives in a major heist on Monday. In the armed robbery, suspects blew up the premises of a security firm before targeting the vault and making off with its estimated $40 million in cash. CNN reports that the robbers were carrying dynamite and large-caliber weapons during the heist.
During the getaway, four people were killed in a shootout between police and the robbers in Ciudad Del Este, Paraguay.
The victims were one police officer and three of the robbers. Eight other members of the gang were later arrested in Itaipulandia in neighboring Brazil, approximately 31 miles north of the crime scene. According to a statement by the Brazilian federal police, several weapon magazines, six rifles, seven vehicles, two boats and an unknown amount of cash were seized during an arrest operation.
Fusiles automáticos, ametralladora antiaérea, explosivos, abatidos, detenidos y dinero en #Foz: caso #Prosegur #CDE https://t.co/EDHP6d8HNe pic.twitter.com/2zoYVeQC9z
— Ministerio/Interior (@minteriorpy) April 25, 2017
Paraguay security firm’s armored trucks used for getaway
According to police, several of the gang fled the scene in a number of armored trucks belonging to Prosegur, the targeted security firm, while setting fire to other vehicles and throwing grenades as a distraction along the way.
According to one eyewitness on the scene, the noise reverberating around Ciudad del Este during the robbery sounded like “bombs in a war.” Police said they believe the rest of the gang escaped back to Brazil in a motorboat on the Parana River.
Photos were released by Paraguay’s minister of the interior showing weapons, bulletproof vests and ammunition left behind by the robbers as they fled the scene.
En poder de los detenidos y abatidos, hallaron armamentos pesados, munición gruesa,chalecos antibalas y salvavidas,cargadores #Foz #Prosegur pic.twitter.com/w3QSMTu0H9
— Ministerio/Interior (@minteriorpy) April 24, 2017
Paraguayan-Brazilian task force seeking the suspects
As reported by the International Business Times, following the incident Brazilian President Michel Temer vowed to support the Paraguayan police, offering all necessary resources to catch the criminals.
A joint Paraguayan-Brazilian task force has been set up to capture the robbers, who officials suspect include members of the Brazilian drug gang, Primeiro Comando da Capital. As reported by AFP, Temer said in a statement that his government “expresses solidarity” with the victims of the robbery, especially the family of the slain Paraguayan police officer.
Justo Zacarias, governor of Alto Parana state where the armed robbery took place, said the attack destroyed the premises of the security firm and caused terror and chaos in the city, adding that nothing like this has happened in Paraguay before.
According to authorities, the amount taken in the robbery is yet to be confirmed. However they believe the vault that was targeted in the raid was full at the time and that vault can hold up to $40 million.
