Fortaleza, 2005: Plan behind Banco Central's heist

On a cold August night in 2005, the Banco Central branch in Fortaleza, a Brazilian city known for its palm trees, locked up for the day. But beneath the calm surface, a plan was brewing that would go down in history as one of the most audacious bank robberies ever, a high-profile case that shook the nation. For three months, a group of criminals had secretly worked on an extensive tunnel intended to lead them directly into the heart of the bank's vault. When they finally struck, they vanished with over 164 million reais – equivalent to 70 million US dollars – in cash, an enormous sum of money weighing nearly 3.5 tons. It wasn't a heist marked by violence and threats, but rather a meticulously planned operation stemming from an ingenious scheme.

May 2005: Fake plant company concealed tunnel digging

In May 2005, a group of men rented a house just a short distance from the Banco Central building. Under the guise of running a business supposedly selling artificial grass and natural plants, they began the painstaking excavation of their tunnel. A neighbor, who wondered why no plants were ever displayed, suspected nothing as he observed trucks driving away with soil daily. This discreet facade effectively concealed the construction of the technically impressive tunnel that would become their route to riches.

Under Fortaleza: Building the 80-meter reinforced tunnel

The impressive tunnel, which snaked beneath one of Fortaleza's busiest streets, measured a full 80 meters in length with a diameter of 70 centimeters. To prevent collapse, the walls were reinforced with wooden supports and plastic sheeting, while electrical cables provided both lighting and ventilation during the perilous excavation work. The hard-working diggers later described the conditions as akin to working at mining depths, where isotonic drinks and creams for skin irritation were essential to endure the damp soil and physically demanding labor.

August 5-6, 2005: Robbers empty bank's vault unnoticed

On Friday, August 5, 2005, bank employees went home, unaware that their workplace had been targeted for the spectacular bank robbery. Between 8 PM and 10 PM, the first robbers crept through the tunnel and broke through the one-meter-thick concrete floor of the bank's currency vault. Inside, five containers were filled with discontinued 50-real notes slated for destruction – perfect loot, as this money would be extremely difficult to trace. Dressed in black suits and equipped with bolt cutters and hammer drills, they worked methodically throughout the night. Each bag contained 250,000 reais, and in total, they had to fill and transport 330 bags of money. An investigator later likened the task to moving sand on a beach, but instead of sand, it was enormous quantities of money they were carrying.

Monday Surprise: Floor hole reveals Banco Central's theft

When staff arrived on Monday morning, the first sign that something was amiss was an inexplicable dampness on the floor. Upon closer inspection, a 50 cm diameter hole revealed the unthinkable truth: Banco Central had been plundered. The alarms, set only to detect door openings, had remained silent throughout the entire heist. Surveillance cameras revealed only indistinct shadows moving along the walls to avoid motion sensors, testament to the perpetrators' knowledge of the bank's security systems.

Operation Tatupeira: Police reveal insider and make arrests

The Brazilian police investigation, dubbed "Operação Tatupeira" (Operation Mole), quickly revealed the extent of the meticulous planning behind the bank robbery. The perpetrators had access to detailed blueprints of the bank, leading investigators to suspect insider involvement. Police emphasized that the robbers knew exactly where the containers of untraceable notes were located. The investigation of this high-profile case involved over 200 federal police officers and led to 129 arrests.

Bloody Aftermath: Ribeiro murdered in power struggle

In the following months, a complex and violent saga unfolded, marked by kidnappings and brutal revenge. Luis Fernando Ribeiro, considered one of the masterminds behind the bank robbery, was abducted and murdered, even after a significant ransom was reportedly paid for his release. Other members of the group vanished without a trace, while some were found killed under mysterious circumstances, evidencing the internal power struggles and conflicts sparked by the vast sum of stolen money.

Sentences Given: 'Alemão' gets 80 years, millions missing

The justice system worked tirelessly to prosecute those involved in the extensive bank robbery. Antonio Jussivan Alves dos Santos, known as "Alemão," was sentenced to 80 years in prison for his role, including large-scale money laundering of the stolen funds, while other accomplices received sentences of up to 53 years in the subsequent trial. However, despite numerous arrests and convictions, only about 32 million reais of the stolen money were recovered. Over 130 million reais remained missing, making this part of the case partially unsolved and a testament to how successful the crime ultimately was for many of the perpetrators.

From Netflix's 3 Tonelada$ to security: Heist legacy

The Fortaleza bank robbery case gained renewed international attention in 2022 with the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary *3 Tonelada$: Assalto ao Banco Central*. The documentary brought forth previously unseen interviews and detailed reconstructions. It also revealed curious details, such as how one of the robbers decorated the excavated tunnel with a pseudonym inspired by the famous Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes. The legacy of the Fortaleza heist is also clearly felt in the world of bank security; Banco Central implemented advanced seismic sensors and underground barricades after the robbery. Nevertheless, in 2017, another group of criminals attempted to reuse the tunnel method against a bank in São Paulo, albeit unsuccessfully this time.

Corruption Revealed: Bribes to police, judges, and mayor

Among the most shocking aspects of the case was the extensive corruption revealed during the subsequent trials. Police officers, judges, and even a mayor were found to have received millions in bribes for their complicity or deliberate inaction in connection with the bank robbery. One journalist reflected that it was not merely a robbery, but a mirror of certain parts of Brazilian society, where the line between legality and illegality can sometimes seem blurred. The Fortaleza bank robbery remains a testament to human ingenuity, perseverance, and greed. While the majority of the millions remained unrecovered and some culprits are still at large, leaving parts of the case unsolved, the story of the tunnel beneath Fortaleza stands as a monument to a crime that challenged both the laws of physics and the reach of the justice system in Brazil.

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