Brazilian police said $40 million worth of gold and other precious metals were stolen by eight armed assailants from Guarulhos Airport in country’s busiest city Sao Paulo.
ARMED MEN TOOK TWO HOSTAGES
According to Globo TV network, police said the armed men also took two people hostages, with no fatal shooting, casualties or injuries reported. Reportedly, the assailants arrived in the airport in black pickup trucks resembling federal police cars.
Thieves left the airport with about 750 kilograms (1,650 pounds) of gold and other metals, along with two hostages believed to be airport workers, and remain at large.
Financially motivated crimes such as armed robberies are very common and on the rise in Brazil, with 22,000 cargo robberies reported in two states alone — Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro — in 2017.
Officials blame criminal gangs and losses are estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars annually.