Brazilian thieves use soccer to pull off heist

Thieves in Brazil made off with nearly $6 million in a heist that demonstrated the unbelievable distracting power of soccer in the country. The looters rented a house near a cash delivery firm, put up Christmas decorations to make the operation look legitimate, and then started digging a 110-yard-long tunnel under the building. Then they ...

575818_091208_flamengo2.jpg
575818_091208_flamengo2.jpg
Flamengo's player Angelim (R) celebrates with teammates his goal against Gremio during their Brazilian Championship final date football match, at Maracana stadium on December 6, 2009 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP PHOTO / ANTONIO SCORZA (Photo credit should read ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty Images)

Thieves in Brazil made off with nearly $6 million in a heist that demonstrated the unbelievable distracting power of soccer in the country.

The looters rented a house near a cash delivery firm, put up Christmas decorations to make the operation look legitimate, and then started digging a 110-yard-long tunnel under the building. Then they waited. Last Sunday, during the 39th Brazilian soccer championship, they blew the floor out of the building and plundered the riches.

The security guard on duty didn’t suspect a thing. He thought the thuds and bangs he heard were people celebrating Flamengo’s victory with fireworks. As of now, the thieves have gotten away with a perfect heist. 

ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty Images

Bobby Pierce is an editorial researcher at Foreign Policy.

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