Tunnel beneath Montevideo: police foil bank robbery and detain 11 people
Uruguayan police dismantled a plan to raid a bank through a tunnel excavated beneath the historic centre of Montevideo. Eleven people have been detained with preventive imprisonment orders for 180 days.
Gang with Uruguayan, Brazilian and Paraguayan members planned to rob financial institution in Montevideo
Uruguay's police dismantled a criminal group composed of Uruguayans, Brazilians and Paraguayans that excavated a tunnel beneath the historic centre of Montevideo with the aim of robbing a bank, univision.com reported. The operation concluded this Tuesday with a raid on the premises used as an operational base, after months of investigation.
Interior Minister Carlos Negro stated at a press conference that the operation "prevented a raid on a financial institution", a situation that "would have caused serious damage, a severe blow to the country's entire financial system".
The Public Prosecutor's Office formalised the case on Wednesday with the charging of 11 detainees, who must serve preventive imprisonment for 180 days while the investigation continues.
According to the Interior Ministry, the case originated from an anonymous tip about drug sales on the coast of Canelones, bordering Montevideo. In mid-December, the investigation took a new turn when Uruguayan police received an alert from their international counterparts about the possible execution of a plan to rob a bank through a tunnel.
Negro described the case as "an example of a gang or group of people who organised themselves to commit several types of crimes, including attempted theft, criminal conspiracy and drug trafficking".
The tunnel was excavated in an area of the historic centre where several banking entities are concentrated, including the headquarters of the state-owned Banco República. The authorities have not revealed which specific bank was targeted by the gang.
Investigators are also studying possible links of the detainees with transnational criminal organisations.
Source: Google News UY — Crime