A military-style robbery of Prosegur’s office occurred in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay's border town to Brazil, on April 24, 2017.[1] The event has been termed “the robbery of the century” and “mega-robbery” by the media, and is the “biggest heist in Paraguay’s history".
In the night, about 50 to 80 heavily-armed robbers closed off the perimeter of the office with cars and, during a three-hour assault, were reportedly able to access at least one of the three vaults of the company. One police officer was killed, and several people were wounded.[1] [2] The robbers were thought to have taken between 8 million to US$40 million.[2] According to Prosegur, US$8 million were missing from one vault.[3]
Authorities have assumed that the robbers came from and returned to Brazil where an apparent staging house was found across the border in Foz do Iguaçu. A subgroup of the robbers was reported to be intercepted in Itaipulandia resulting in a gun battle during which three suspects were killed and four arrested.[4] Additional suspects were arrested in Parana.[4] Paraguayan police suspects that the First Capital Command (PCC), a criminal Brazilian gang, may be behind the robbery.[3]
Several police chiefs of Ciudad del Este were fired after the robbery by the interior minister.[5]