Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

The Banco Central Burglary at Fortaleza

The Banco Central burglary atFortaleza was the theft of about R$160 million from the vault of theBanco Central branch located in Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará,Brazil, on August 6, 2005. It is one of the world's largest heists.In the aftermath of the burglary, of the 25 people thought to beinvolved, only 8 had been arrested, and R$20 million recovered, up tothe end of 2005. In addition, several of the gang are thought to havebeen victims of kidnapping, and one member, Luis Fernando Ribeiro,thought to have been the mastermind of the operation, was killed bykidnappers after a ransom was paid.[citation needed] Arrests andrecovery of the money, as well as kidnapping and murder of theperpetrators, have been ongoing, though most are still unaccountedfor.

The burglary

On Saturday, August 6, 2005, a gang ofburglars tunneled into the bank and removed five containers of50-real notes, with an estimated value of R$164,755,150 (about 71.6million USD at 2005 exchange rate) and weighing about 3.5 tons. Themoney was uninsured, a bank spokesperson stating that the risks weretoo small to justify the insurance premiums. The burglars managed toevade or disable the bank's internal alarms and sensors, and theburglary remained undiscovered until the bank opened for business thefollowing Monday.

Banco Central is the Brazilian centralbank, charged with control of the money supply. The money in thevault was to be examined to decide whether it should be recirculatedor destroyed. The bills were not numbered sequentially, making themalmost impossible to trace.

Planning

Three months before the burglary, thecriminals rented a commercial property in the center of the city andtunneled 78 meters (256 ft) beneath two city blocks to a positionbeneath the bank. The gang had renovated the property and put up asign indicating it was a landscaping company selling both natural andartificial grass as well as plants. Neighbors, who estimated that thegang consisted of between six and ten men, described how they hadseen van-loads of soil being removed daily, but understood this to bea normal activity of the business. The tunnel, being roughly 70 cm(2.3 ft) square and running 4 meters (13 ft) beneath the surface, waswell-constructed: it was lined with wood and plastic and had its ownlighting and air circulating systems.

Execution

On the final weekend, the gang brokethrough 1.1 meters (3.6 ft) of steel-reinforced concrete to enter thebank vault. A considerable amount of time would be required to removeand transport the money due to the volume and weight of the amountthat was taken.

Investigation

"They worked for severalmonths", police said. "The gardening company wasworking since March. They had sophisticated equipment, including GPS,and experts in mathematics, engineering and excavation."

Police located a pick-up truck brandedwith a Grama Sintética (Synthetic Turf) logo found at the rentedproperty. Bolt cutters, a blow torch, an electric saw and other toolsused to penetrate the concrete barrier were found both inside thevault and within the empty property. The property was covered inburnt lime to avoid fingerprints.

Suspects

The Brazilian Federal Police areinvestigating a possible connection between the burglars and carresellers in Fortaleza. On August 10, 2005 the Military Police ofMinas Gerais arrested two men driving a car-carrying truck in SeteLagoas, near Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. More than R$2.13 millionwas recovered in three pickup trucks being transported.

Five men were arrested on September 28,2005 with about R$5.22 million of the money and told the police theyhad helped dig the tunnel. Eighteen suspects remain at large.Prosecutors have said the group tried unsuccessfully to charter asmall plane days before the robbery to escape and move the money outof the country.

On October 20, 2005 the body of one ofthe alleged masterminds, Luis Fernando Ribeiro, 26, was found on anisolated road near Camanducaia, 200 miles (320 km) west of Rio deJaneiro. He had been shot seven times and had handcuff marks on hiswrists. "It was definitely because of the robbery,"according to a police official of Minas Gerais who identified himselfonly as Corporal Leonino.

Ribeiro fled from Fortaleza to SãoPaulo after the robbery and was kidnapped on October 7, 2005. Hisfamily paid R$893,600 in ransom, but he was not freed. There weresigns that police officers were involved in the kidnapping andkilling, and three of them were arrested.

On October 28, 2005 a person linked toa former security guard involved in the burglary was arrested withR$85,100 and on November 10 three more suspects were arrested.

From October 22, 2005 until April 13,2006 the police discovered six kidnappings related to this robberyand in all cases the relatives of the victims paid the ransom.

On August 1, 2006 Brazilian authoritiesfound R$178,100 buried in a house in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.

A prepaid phone card was found insidethe tunnel. The Federal Police located the cell phone associated withit and had it wiretapped. On September 1, 2006 a special operationnamed "Operação Facção Toupeira" (Operation MoleFaction) was started, leading the police to arrest 43 people suspectof involvement on the heist including one of the alleged masterminds,and recovering R$275,100 in cash.

On October 3, 2006 the body of anothersuspect, Evandro José das Neves, was found at a favela in SãoPaulo.

On January 28, 2007 Márcio RafaelPierre, another of the alleged masterminds, was arrested in SãoPaulo. On April 19, also in São Paulo, a suspect named Edson Pereirade Queiroz was arrested.

So far, authorities have arrested 54suspects and the Federal Police recovered only about R$20 million.