TIL that in 2005 burglars stole $71.6 million from a bank in Fortaleza, Brazil by setting up a fake landscaping company near the bank and digging a 256ft tunnel beneath two city blocks to the bank over 3 months. Neighbors noticed vanloads of soil removed daily but assumed it was business-related.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Lagavulin16_neat t3_ya4qel in todayilearned
Green-Cruiser t1_it9a1g7 wrote
The 2005 Banco Central burglary in Fortaleza, Brazil, was once recognised by Guinness Book of World Records as the world's greatest bank robbery.
To pull it off, a 25-member gang set up a fake landscaping business. They spent three months digging a 256-foot tunnel that led up through the bank's vault floor.
Once inside, they stole several containers that held 160 million Brazilian reals. Only eight people were arrested, and just 20 million real was recovered.