Federal Bank Heist 2011

In 2005, a daring plan unfolds led by Barão,Milhem Cortaz a top-tier criminal, and his wife Carla,Hermila Guedes who together plot a heist that would etch itself into the city’s memory. Their goal is audacious: dig a tunnel from an old house to the Banco Central vault in Fortaleza and walk away with millions of reais. To pull it off, they assemble a tight-knit crew of eight others: Mineiro,Eriberto Leão the couple’s loyal right-hand and de facto second-in-command; Doutor,Tonico Pereira a communist civil engineer; Tatu,Gero Camilo the brickwork chief; Caetano,Fábio Lago another bricklayer; Saulo,Créo Kellab; Décio,Juliano Cazarré and Firmino,Cadu Fávero as brickies; and Léo,Heitor Martinez the security head and an ex-cop expelled for corruption. Ahead of the build, Barão secures vital security information from Moacir,Antônio Abujamra and uses it to choreograph every maneuver once the tunnel is opened. To shield the operation, he establishes an old house as a headquarters and a second site beneath which the hole will be dug, plus a fake turf company that pretends to run a legitimate business.

Joining the scheme later is Devanildo,Vinícius de Oliveira a devout evangelist who becomes the secretary for the fake company. Though he starts unaware of the true nature of the crew, he eventually follows the search down into the tunnel and uncovers the plan. He pleads with Barão to let him leave, but is forced to stay and witness more.

Interwoven with these preparations, Sheriff Amorim,Lima Duarte and his assistant Telma,Giulia Gam begin to investigate the heist. They trace the venture back to the Banco Central and then to the fake company, and Amorim even questions some of the gang members later arrested.

Before long, the team reaches the vault on August 6, 2005—three months after the plan begins. Barão, Carla, and Mineiro seize the cash, moving the entire haul, R$164 million, to their HQ where each member pockets roughly R$2 million. When Saulo challenges the distribution, inspired by Doutor’s communist ideals, Barão shoots him to silence the protest and maintain control. To throw police off their trail, Barão plants a huge bundle of money inside a car that is loaded onto an autorack bound for São Paulo; the authorities stop the autorack and arrest its driver, mistakenly convinced all the money has been sent away.

As the case develops, Léo is visited by former colleagues from the police, Robson and Vágner,Marcello Gonçalves, who have learned of his wealth and press him for information about the gang. Léo admits his involvement and agrees to betray others to ease his own risk. They zero in on Décio; when Décio refuses to reveal the vault’s location, Léo shoots him, and a few kids later discover Décio’s stash buried in his yard. Amorim arrives to pick up the thread of the investigation.

Back at the faction’s HQ, Carla and Barão argue about how to spend the loot. Barão wants to lay low, but Carla, unhappy with the pace, leaves him and returns to the former HQ where Mineiro now lives. Amorim then visits Caetano after he tries to buy a mansion with old R$50 bills—the same bills stolen in the heist—and Caetano is cuffed. Devanildo confesses to a priest, Milton Gonçalves,Milton Gonçalves admitting he earned a fortune by associating with people who “did not follow the Lord’s words.” The priest urges him to donate everything, but Devanildo keeps a portion for himself. On the way back from church, a police officer recovers some of the money and Devanildo is arrested and interrogated by Amorim. Amorim and Telma also arrest Firmino, who initially denies being Barão but is pressured by Barão’s lawyer into assuming the criminal’s identity to reduce Barão’s heat; the lawyer depicted here is Daniel Filho,Daniel Filho who helps steer Firmino into a false confession.

With the net tightening, Mineiro summons the remaining members for a final regroup. Barão surprises Mineiro on the way home and confronts him about a supposed romance with Carla, a confrontation intensified by Martinho,Cássio Gabus Mendes a detective hired to monitor the crew after the heist. Léo contacts his police allies to plot a final takedown of the group, while Amorim and Telma have already taped Mineiro’s phone to anticipate the meeting.

When the raid finally comes, special forces storm the old HQ and arrest Mineiro, Léo, Tatu,Gero Camilo and Carla. The police do not hesitate to capture the others who remain in the orbit of the case. The arrest marks a bitter close to the operation’s chaotic pursuit, and the law closes around the perpetrators as Amorim faces retirement. Telma steps up as his replacement, and in a stark image of the case’s unresolved loyalties, Barão infiltrates the crowd of photographers and shares a quiet smile with Carla, watched by a perplexed Amorim.