It’s one of the
most spectacular bank robberies in history. In early August of 2005,
criminals managed to get away with the equivalent of 40m Euros from the
Brazilian Central Bank Vaults. In order to do this, they set up a
storefront that pretended to sell artificial grass. They advertised
their shop on baseball caps and even took out ads in the local paper to
improve their cover. Meanwhile, in the back room, they tunneled their
way down the street and eventually into a vault. Now here’s where it
gets really interesting – the thieves stole notes that were being taken
out of circulation, therefore they were untraceable. The story has
become legendary in Brazil. While many low-level people involved with
the crime have been caught or murdered, its ring leader, a man known
only as Paulo Sergio, still remains at large.
Berlin Bank Robbery Tunnel – 135 ft. long
It’s
a classic caper that was executed with precision and skill. Clever
thieves rented a garage that happened to be conveniently located next to
the Berliner Volksbank. Working very slowly for a number of months,
they were able to build a tunnel that was 135 ft. long, complete with
metal supports. At the tunnel’s end, they had to burrow through the
thick walls of the underground safe deposit room. Once inside, the
thieves grabbed about 10 million Euros of loot before setting fire to
the tunnel to cover their tracks. Some of the bandits have been caught,
but not all of them.
Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman’s $1.5m “James Bond” Tunnel – 270 ft.
Tunnels across
the US-Mexico border are now almost commonplace, but it is one of the
first ones discovered that still sets the standard for high-tech
narco-trafficking. In May 1990, agents found a tunnel that was 270 ft.
long in Douglas, Arizona, but an architect named Felipe de Jesus
Corona-Verbera made it truly special. When a dummy water tap was turned,
hydraulics lifted a giant pool table which revealed the tunnel’s
entrance, where 2,000 lbs of cocaine and marijuana was seized. The boss
for whom this was built, Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, called his new
tunnel/toy “f-ing cool.”
Ooops.. Criminals Tunnel into… KFC!!
This tunnel is
incredibly stupid. Aussie thugs/idiots Peter Welsh and Dwayne Doolan
were having no luck trying to break into the jewelry store at the local
strip mall. First, they tried breaking the front windows, then they
tried to get in through the back door. Then they had the “brilliant”
idea of tunneling through a wall of the adjoining bathroom. However,
once they broke through they realized that they weren’t in the jewelry
store but in the KFC, instead. Making the best of the gaffe, the duo
robbed the KFC’s safe, but were apprehended while their fingers were
still greasy.
North Korea’s Third “Tunnel of Aggression” to the South – 1.1 miles
These
incredible tunnels lie deep below the DMZ (aka Demilitarized Zone)
between North and South Korea who are, at least technically, still at
war. The tunnels were created by the North, allegedly to invade the
South. At first, The North denied their existence, but when two of them
were found in the 1970s, they said they were for mining coal. However,
when a third one was found in 1978 that was 27 miles from Seoul, the
fragile truce was almost dissolved. This tunnel was 1.1 miles long and
6.6 ft. high and wide, allowing one entire military division to pass per
hour. A fourth was discovered in the 1990s, and there are believed to
be 20 more. But somehow, even though they are always on the brink of
war, the Third Tunnel is a popular tourist destination in the South. Go
figure.
18th Century English Smugglers Tunnels – 65 feet
The
art of smuggling has been around for centuries. In the olden days it
was more to avoid taxes than for contraband – because back then nothing
was illegal! Tunnels have been found all over England, helping to move
items such as tobacco, sugar, tea, alcohol, or silk; one of the most
recent tunnels was discovered in the town of Hastings when they
were digging a new water line and the ground collapsed into the tunnel
below.
Drug Tunnel from Canada to the U.S. – 360 feet
While all
eyes have been on smuggling contraband from Mexico to the U.S., a new
route has been discovered coming from America’s friendly neighbor to the
north. Canadian authorities became suspicious when someone noticed a
large amount of lumber disappearing into a small metal shed in Langley,
like some kind of optical illusion. They alerted the U.S., who surveyed
the area for a year. When agents finally executed their sting, they
found a tunnel that was 360 ft. long that ended in the living room of an
abandoned home in Lynden, Washington on the U.S. side. It was extremely
well-built, with wood, metal, and concrete reinforcements, and even a
small cart to transport goods and, perhaps, people. Several people were
arrested by Canadian police, but none on the U.S. side.
