An attempt to establish the source of an annoying noise from the underside of van has helped foil one of the most ambitious criminal attempts of recent years.
Authorities on Thursday prevented a new copycat of the famous "heist of the century" bank robbery, discovering an elaborate 220-metre-long tunnel built near a branch of Banco Macro in San Isidro.
Police confirmed in a statement that they had discovered the tunnel, whose interior is lined with wood and has ventilation and electric lights, though they are yet to identify the culprits.
The investigation began when, on Wednesday morning, a parked driver heard a strange noise hit the chassis of his vehicle. The delivery man, who was parked opposite the San Isidro branch of Banco Macro at Chacabuco 444, later verified that it was due to a metal rod emerging between the cobblestones of the street.
After contacting the police,the head of the San Isidro force Alejandro Sánchez arrived, attested to the presence of the strange iron rod and asked bank staff to set off the alarms and to check whether they had noticed something.
The local prosecutor's office then ordered the excavation that discovered the tunnel, making the startling discovery on Thursday morning. After drilling down 3.5 metres, they were shocked to find the underground passage, eventually locating its entrance in a shed about 200 metres away from the bank.
A large amount of earth had been removed with the help of digging machines was also found, along with other equipment, although the potential criminals could not yet be located.
Video footage later emerged online of the tunnel. The images, which went viral, show that it was aimed at the bank’s vault.
Investigators estimate that the construction took between six and nine months and defined the tunnel as "a work of engineering," evaluating that it is "better than Chapo Guzman's” – a reference to the infamous tunnel used by the Mexican drug lord to escape from prison in 2015.
It was close to completion: investigators believe the robbery may even have taken place next weekend. Mattresses were also found in the tunnel, though police believe the operation may also have been stalled after its creators got spooked.
The event was reminiscent of the famed “robo del siglo” ("heist of the century"), which took place in 2006 at a branch of Banco Río in Acassuso, when a group of criminals, with meticulous planning, stole close to US$19 million from a bank and escaped through a tunnel while simulating a hostage-taking.
In that robbery, which gave rise to books, series and movies, the criminals used toy guns and left a note in the vault: "In a rich man's neighbourhood, without guns or grudges, it is only money and not love.”
Police investigators told local media outlets that the criminal plan seemed to be even more professional than the 2006 robbery.
– TIMES/AFP/NA/PERFIL
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