$65m stolen in Brazil's biggest bank heist

Thieves penetrated the Banco Central branch in the northeastern city of Fortaleza over the weekend after digging an 80-meter (260-foot) tunnel, the bank said in a statement.

They carted out 13.5 tonnes in notes without setting off alarms, police said.

"There were movement sensors in the safe and security cameras, which were not activated," police said.

Police said the thieves appeared to have made off with at least 65 million dollars.

Banco Central said the robbers opened five containers with 50-real notes, each worth 21.60 dollars.

The robbers operated from a nearby house where they created a fictitious gardening company, which allowed them to get rid of earth they dug without raising suspicion, police said. The tunnel was four meters (13 feet) underground.

Brazil's previous record bank heist took place in 1999, when robbers made off with 37 million reals (16 million in today's dollars) from Banespa bank in Sao Paulo, according to Folha Online.