Using automatic rifles, dynamite and anti-aircraft guns, around 50 gangsters turned city into a battle zone before fleeing in speedboats with about $8m

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Brazilian gangsters have taken armed robbery to a lethal new level with a cross-border attack on a Paraguayan security vault and police headquarters using automatic rifles, dynamite and anti-aircraft guns in what local media have described as “the heist of the century”.



One police officer was murdered in the assault and three suspects were killed by police after they fled the scene and crossed the river border in speedboats with an estimated $8m.

Using diversion strategies and a degree of firepower usually reserved for wars, around 50 gangsters – believed to be from the First Capital Command (better known by its Portuguese acronym PCC) – turned the city of Ciudad del Este into a battle zone for more than three hours early on Monday morning.

Soon after midnight, they torched vehicles to block access roads into the police headquarters, which they then raked with gunfire and bombarded with grenades and molotov cocktails filled with bullets to give the impression of a larger attacking force.



But the attack on the police was only a diversion: soon after it was launched, another, larger group of gunmen assaulted the headquarters of a private security company, Prosegur.

They killed a policeman, who was reportedly asleep in his car, then choked the main road outside the building with burning cars and shot at any vehicle that approached. Anti-aircraft guns were deployed in case the police tried to approach the area by helicopter, though that did not happen.

Using explosives, the thieves blasted the main concrete wall housing access to the vault. It is unclear how many they were able to break into, but they reportedly stole $8m of the $49m held inside. Closed-circuit cameras show the heavily armed assailants wearing ski masks and speaking Portuguese.

A battle then ensued with police who had been called to the scene. But the gangsters – who had infrared sights and automatic weapons – were more heavily armed. The officers only had their regulation handguns because the arsenal at headquarters was blocked.

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Local residents recorded the sounds and flashes of the confrontation on cellphones. For more than two hours, the streets echoed with gunfire and explosions. At least three bystanders and one policeman were injured.

“The security firm’s premises have been destroyed in an attack caused chaos and terror in the city,” Justo Zacarias, the governor of surrounding Alto Parana state, told reporters.

The thieves split into three groups and drove off in security vans, lobbing explosives and spikes behind them to prevent anyone from following. Police later found an abandoned van containing heavy weapons, traces of blood and bulletproof vests.

They are thought to have crossed the Parana river in speedboats.

Brazilian police intercepted one group 50km (31 miles) on the other side of the border in Itaipulandia, killing three and arresting four others.

Six others were arrested in Brazil on Tuesday.

Authorities on both sides of the border have stepped up the search for the remaining gangsters. Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, said that his country will provide “all necessary resources” to find the criminals.



Paraguayan police chief Luis Rojas said it was possible the attackers had help inside the police force. Several officers have been suspended pending an investigation.</s>Brazilian gang blamed for heist in which a police officer was killed in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay's second city.

A gang of dozens of armed robbers have stolen several million dollars from a vault in Paraguay, in what local officials are dubbing the "robbery of the century".

Initial estimates placed the cash haul at around $40m, but a spokesman for Prosegur, the private security company targeted in the raid, denied these reports. Authorities did not release any information on how much money was stolen.

The culprits, who police said were from Brazil, killed one police officer during the Monday raid in Ciudad del Este, the South American country's second-largest city.

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Officials said three civilians were injured in a blaze of gunfire and torched vehicles during the three-hour attack.

Three robbers were killed hours later in an ensuing gun battle with Brazilian police across the border, the Paraguayan Interior Ministry said.

Five members of the gang were arrested in Itaipulandia, 50 kilometres north of Ciudad del Este, the ministry added.

The robbers, armed with assualt rifles, used explosives to gain access to the vault at a cash-storage facility in the Paraguayan border city, which is known for its criminal gang activity.

Up to 80 people may have been involved in the attack, said Arsenio Correa, investigations chief in the city, told Associated Press.

"The criminals used snipers to guarantee the escape and torched more than 10 vehicles to distract the police," he said.

Video footage showed burned armoured cars outside the crumbling remains of the company's building.



Ciudad del Este sits in the "Triple Border" region, where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet and where contraband electronics, drugs and arms flow across porous borders.

Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, a major criminal organisation in Brazil, were suspected of being behind the attack police spokesman Augusto Lima said, according to a report by the German news agency. Armed with assault rifles, the culprits are thought to have made their escape to Brazil by motorboat via the Parana river.

Some of the stolen money was recovered, according to newspaper ABC Color.</s>A gang of over 50 armed bandits have stolen several million dollars from a vault in Paraguay, in what local officials are dubbing the “robbery of the century.”

The culprits, who police said were from Brazil, killed one police officer during the Monday raid in Ciudad del Este, the South American country’s second-largest city.

Three robbers were killed hours later in an ensuing gun battle with Brazilian police across the border, the Paraguayan Interior Ministry said.

Five members of the gang were arrested in Itaipulandia, 50 kilometres north of Ciudad del Este, the ministry added.

Initial estimates placed the cash haul at around 40 million dollars, but a spokesman for Prosegur, the security company targeted in the raid, denied these reports.

The gangsters used explosives to gain access to the vault at a cash-storage facility in the Paraguayan border city, which is known for its criminal gang activity.

Armed with assault rifles, they are thought to have made their escape to Brazil by motorboat via the Parana river.

Investigations point to Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, a major criminal organization in Brazil, police spokesman Augusto Lima said.</s>Paraguay and Brazil after a 60-member gang that robbed US$ 40 m and terrorized a city

Brazilian police near the border with Paraguay have exchanged gunfire with members of a gang who carried out what Paraguayan officials are calling the robbery of the century. So far three gang members were killed and two injured in the clash, police say. The number of robbers involved and display of weapons has led authorities to believe it is a one of Brazil largest criminal gangs.

Earlier on Monday about 60 men moved into the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este, blew up with explosives the front of a private security firm, and fired on police. Unconfirmed reports suggest they could have stolen up to US$40m.

After the robbery, the gang created a diversion by burning cars and attacking the local police station, and escaped after a two-hour shootout that left one police officer dead at the scene after the company's vaults were blown up.

Police believe they fled in several of the security company's armored trucks and then may have transferred their booty to waiting boats at the Parana river. They were believed to have travelled 50km downriver to a region called Itaipulandia in Brazil, were they were intercepted by Brazilian police.

Brazilian federal police came across 12 men who exchanged fire and then escaped, Brazilian Globo website reported. The men left guns, ammunition, flak jackets and explosives in the car they abandoned, police said. A large security operation is under way to try to recapture the gang on both sides of the border.

The violent robbery started around midnight and ended after 3 a.m., neighbors said. It has left the city in a state of panic, especially because some of the robbers, unable go flee remained in the city opening fire indiscriminately.

Schools in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay’s second largest city, located in the Triple Border with Brazil and Argentina, were closed on Monday.

Numerous witnesses said they heard the heavily armed men speaking in Portuguese, leading to speculation that they could be members of the First Command of the Capital (PCC), one of the largest criminal groups in Brazil. Weapons used included AK 47s, C4 explosives, infrared weapons, snipers and even anti-aircraft guns and a helicopter.

The Prosegur headquarters in Ciudad del Este had entered the authorities’ radar in 2015 they found a tunnel running under the building. They found an L-shaped tunnel that ran under Prosegur and connected to a house. Two years later, they managed to rob it, said Richard Vera, Paraná's homicide chief.</s>Guards and police inspect a vault that assailants blew up early Monday morning in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Dozens of attackers armed with assault rifles used explosives to blast open the vault of an armored car company early Monday and apparently escaped by boat into Brazil with a haul of cash, authorities said.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Japan Times.</s>Dozens of suspected Brazilian gangsters blasted into a secure vault containing millions of dollars in southeastern Paraguay on Monday, leaving a policeman dead in what officials called the “robbery of the century.”

Some 50 gunmen with explosives and military-grade weaponry left the city of Ciudad del Este looking like a war zone after a two-hour overnight assault on a security firm and police headquarters, authorities and witnesses said.

A joint Paraguayan-Brazilian police operation against the fleeing assailants on the country’s porous border — near the famous Iguazu waterfalls — killed three suspects and resulted in “at least four arrests,” Paraguay’s interior ministry tweeted.

The tweet showed a photograph of a policeman standing over the body of a man in bloodied camouflage clothing. Other pictures on the ministry’s Twitter page showed what were apparently the getaway cars snared by police and a collection of captured ammunition and flak jackets.

Brazilian authorities confirmed there had been a deadly clash but would not give more details.

“There was an exchange of fire,” a federal police source for the state of Parana told AFP. “There were dead and wounded but we are not giving more information for now. We’re still looking for people.”

Brazilian President Michel Temer promised to support Paraguayan police “with all necessary resources.”

“The Brazilian government expresses solidarity with the victims of this criminal act and, especially, with the relatives of the dead Paraguayan policeman,” he said.

Shocked Paraguayan officials said it was an unprecedented attack for Ciudad del Este, a key trading hub near the borders of Brazil and Argentina in an area linked to drug gangs.

The target of the raid was Prosegur, a firm specializing in safely transporting cash. Far from simply overwhelming security at the facility, the raiders caused multiple diversions around the city, setting vehicles on fire to block roads and detonating explosives near police headquarters.

“The noise rang out around the city like bombs in a war,” one man who witnessed the attack, Antonio del Puerto, told AFP.

Television images from the scene showed the Prosegur building was virtually destroyed, with rocket casings lying around and burned-out vehicles in the streets.

Police reports said the attackers included members of First Capital Command, one of Brazil’s most powerful drug gangs, which is based in Sao Paulo and has fought turf battles in Rio de Janeiro and across the country’s prison system.

Public prosecutor Denise Duarte said the men wore masks and spoke Portuguese, the language of Brazil.

It remained unclear just how much the assailants made off with.

Duarte said the Prosegur vault “was full” at the time of the robbery. Police said the vault can hold up to $40 million in cash but authorities had yet to verify the amount.

The attackers abandoned several vehicles at the site, including armored trucks, one of them mounted with what was described as an anti-aircraft gun.

“The security firm’s premises has been destroyed and the attack caused chaos and terror in the city,” the governor of surrounding Alto Parana state, Justo Zacarias, told reporters.

“Nothing like this has ever happened in Paraguay.”

Paraguay’s police chief, Luis Rojas, said it was “very feasible” that the attackers had help from within the police force.

He said he had contacted security forces in Brazil and Argentina to help catch the robbers.

“I am going to seek the resources and the best men to work to catch these people,” he said.</s>SAO PAULO (AP) - Brazil's Federal Police say they have arrested nine men suspected of stealing millions of dollars in an explosive assault of an armored car company in neighboring Paraguay.

Regional federal police inspector Fabiano Bordignon said at a Tuesday news conference that the nine are suspected of being among the estimated 50 men who used assault rifles and explosives to blast open the vault of the armored car company across the border in Ciudad del Este and then escaped into Brazil.

Bordignon said the amount stolen would be announced later in the day. Some local news media say about $40 million was stolen.

Guards and police inspect a vault that the assailants blew up early morning in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, Monday, April 24, 2017. Dozens of attackers armed with assault rifles used explosives to blast open the vault of an armored car company early Monday and apparently escaped by boat into Brazil with a haul of cash, authorities said. (Mariana Ladaga/Diario ABC Color via AP)

A vehicle burns after thieves set it on fire during their escape in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, Monday, April 24, 2017. According to reports, dozens of attackers armed with assault rifles used explosives to blast open the vault of an armored car company early Monday and apparently escaped by boat into Brazil with a haul of cash. (Mariana Ladaga/Diario ABC Color via AP)

Police inspect a boat that assailants used to escape after a massive armored car company robbery, in the Parana River, border with Brazil and Paraguay, Monday, April 24, 2017. A gang of over 50 armed bandits stole several million dollars from a vault in Paraguay, in what local officials are dubbing the "robbery of the century". The culprits, who police said were from Brazil, killed one police officer during the Monday raid. (Roberto Zarza/Diario ABC Color via AP)</s>Explosions, a running gun battle, hostage-taking and an attack on a police station took place along Paraguay's border with Brazil on Monday, as a gang of bandits assaulted a private security company and reportedly made off with millions of dollars in what's being called the biggest heist in Paraguayan history.

Estimates of the amount of money taken have ranged from $8 million to $40 million, but none of those figures have been confirmed by authorities.

At least one police officer and three suspects have been killed, and at least nine arrests have been made, according to local officials and Brazilian media. All of those arrested are Brazilian.

Details about the raid are still emerging, but police believe some 50 heavily armed thieves took part in an early morning assault on the Prosegur security group's local headquarters in Ciudad del Este, a city that's across the Parana River from Brazil. They reportedly used explosives to blow the front off the security firm's building and take the cash, before firing on police and setting more than a dozen cars on fire to cover their escape.

"This type of crime is not for amateurs," said local Federal Police Delegate Fabiano Bordignón, according to the newspaper Folha De Sao Paulo. Headlines are calling it the crime of the century, or simply, a "mega-robbery."

The criminals then used Prosegur's armored trucks to transport their haul — at least some of which then went across the river to the Brazilian town of Foz de Yguazú, officials say. That's where a mansion was found later Monday that federal police say the criminals may have used as a staging area. Search and forensics teams are working on evidence from that house, according to Brazil's G1 news network.

The bandits also stole a police car, reports Brazil's O Globo, which adds that early Tuesday morning, the gang members released "11 people, mostly rural workers, who had been taken hostage."

Hundreds of military and civilian police have been deployed to find the thieves, who are believed to have scattered in smaller groups after the robbery.

Bags of cash were recovered in Foz de Yguazú, Paraguay's Minister of the Interior Lorenzo Lezcano Sánchez said Tuesday, along with five machine guns, a .50-caliber rifle, seven cars and vans, two boats, and 7 kilograms of explosives, according to an official statement. Ammunition and bulletproof vests were also seized.

Paraguay's Interior Ministry and officials in Brazil have said they suspect a Brazilian gang called the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital, or First Command of the Capital) could be behind the operation. If that connection holds true, the mastermind could be a 42-year-old man named Luciano Castro de Oliveira — more widely known as Zequinha — who remains at large, as the newspaper Clarin reports.</s>The group made off with money from several vaults inside Prosegur, a private security firm in Ciudad del Este, police said.

Ciudad del Este is Paraguay's second-largest city and is along the border with Brazil and Argentina.

Authorities believe the robbers were members of Primer Comando de la Capital, one of the largest criminal organizations in Brazil.

In initial reports, police said the vaults were able to store up to $40 million but neither authorities or the firm confirmed the sum that was taken.

The offices of a private security firm in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay were robbed on April 24 A police officer was killed during Monday's shootout that started around midnight (local time) and lasted for about two hours. Another officer and three bystanders were injured and taken to local hospitals, police said Grenades were set off and more than a dozen vehicles were set on fire as the robbery took place. Police said officers engaged in a gun battle with snipers and others armed with large caliber weapons, dynamite and caltrops. In a building next to the security firm, Alejandro Anisimoff and his family ran and hid when the robbers broke into their home. "We heard non-stop turmoil for an hour. Within that hour, five grenades blew off here. We hid upstairs in one of the bedrooms," Anisimoff, whose home is in the building next to the firm, told CNN en Español. The robbers fled and were able to cross the border into Brazil. A small group was intercepted by Brazilian police in a region called Itaipulandia, about 50 miles from Ciudad del Este, officials said. Three suspects were killed and four arrested during the confrontation, said a spokesperson with Paraguay's Interior Ministry in a news release The building had been under the police radar before, Richard Vera, chief of the Ciudad del Este police homicide department told Argentina's El Pais newspaper. In 2015, they found an L-shaped tunnel connecting the building to a nearby house.</s>By Maria Clara C Pestre and Daniela Desantis

RIO DE JANEIRO/ASUNCION April 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian federal police on Tuesday arrested eight people suspected of killing a police officer and blowing up a building while robbing a security company of millions of dollars in a volatile border town in Paraguay.

Three suspects were killed in a shoot-out after the movie-like heist in the contraband hub of Ciudad del Este on Monday.

Security company Prosegur said in a Tuesday statement that its losses did not exceed $8 million, much less than the $40 million that some media initially reported.

Brazilian gang First Capital Command (PCC), based in Sao Paulo, probably organized the operation, according to a Paraguayan police document that Reuters saw.

Brazilian federal police said in a statement that they had seized six rifles, two boats and seven vehicles in Foz de Iguacu, a town across a river from Ciudad del Este, in addition to making the arrests.

"This was an assault with a well-planned operation," Paraguayan Security Minister Lorenzo Lezcano said on Monday. "They had powerful weapons and explosives."

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes ordered the military to bring order to Ciudad del Este, long known as a hub for trafficking counterfeit goods, drugs and weapons. A regional police chief was also fired.

Video footage of the assault showed more than a dozen cars on fire around the Prosegur building, meaning police could not access the scene for several hours.

Cartes has been trying to shed Paraguay's reputation for lawlessness in recent years, and Brazilian investment in the landlocked nation of 6.8 million has helped spur one of the fastest economic growth rates in Latin America.

Violent protests in Asuncion last month over Cartes' attempts to change the country's constitution and run for a second term raised eyebrows among business groups, however. He now says he will not seek re-election.

Insecurity in the so-called tri-border region is a concern of Paraguay's larger neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, which are trying to curb drug trafficking from gangs like the PCC. (Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
In Paraguay, around 50 armed men, allegedly belonging to the Brazil-based Primeiro Comando da Capital criminal gang, storm a security vault and police headquarters in Ciudad del Este, escaping with around $6 million in a daring cross-border raid.