Brazil robbers foil bank alarm system with aluminium disguise

The robbers covered themselves in aluminum foil in a bid to beat the bank’s alarm system. PHOTO: BRAZILIAN MILITARY POLICE
The robbers covered themselves in aluminum foil in a bid to beat the bank’s alarm system. PHOTO: BRAZILIAN MILITARY POLICE

Bank robbers in Brazil donned a highly unusual disguise for an attempted heist on Saturday (April 9) morning.

Covered entirely in aluminium foil, the robbers surprisingly managed to fool the security system of the bank in the southern state of Santa Catarina, even getting close to its main safe.

But it was no Harry Potter-esque invisibility cloak, as police were alerted when the duo were caught on security cameras crawling on the ground in their improvised suits.

The pair left several items at the scene in their hurry to get away, including blowtorches they are believed to have planned to use to crack the safe. The foil they wrapped themselves in was nowhere to be found.

They are believed to have fled the scene in a white sports car without stealing any money and are still on the run, Brazilian national newspaper O Globo reported.

However, a third man, thought to have been acting as a lookout, was arrested.

A local police spokesman said: "They wanted to make sure the alarms didn't detect their presence by using the tin foil, but staff at the bank's CCTV control HQ saw them moving around and alerted police."

"We searched the area and... found a suspect who was hiding in bushes and had a police record that we took in for questioning."

In the past, a separate group managed to rob several ATM machines in Rio de Janeiro using an aluminum cloak. The disguise was meant to throw off an alarm activated by body heat.

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