Santander robbery: how was the historic robbery of one of the most recognized banks in Argentina?

A movie heist that almost ended with a perfect escape. More than 19 million dollars were taken Argentine thieves that they had planned in detail the assault on the now known Santander Bank in Argentina. With fake weapons and a lot of creativity, the 7 subjects involved outwitted the Police for a long time until they were betrayed. This real life case was so famous that it even inspired the production of a documentary on Netflix.

At that time, the Santander bank was called Banco Río and it was in one of its branches in the town of Acassuso, where the famous robbery that shook the entire Argentine country took place.

It happened on January 13, 2006 with a plan that seemed to leave no loose ends. 7 hours of negotiation was the time the thieves used to waste the policemen’s time. This robbery was one of the most notorious due to the curious actions that took place inside the bank.

They entered with fake weapons and took 23 hostages to avoid being caught, but inside the establishment they not only looted the safes, but also put on quite a show celebrating the birthday of one of the hostages, they called to order pizzas and soft drinks and They even prepared a slogan for when the police realized the ‘scam’: “In a rich neighborhood, without weapons or grudges, it’s just money and not love.”

Everything that happened was recorded live by various media outlets for thousands of families who experienced this criminal act minute by minute. Although more than 300 troops with shields and rifles were deployed in the area, 4 snipers who had the assailants in their sights and 20 cameras that broadcast the entire event, the 7 members of the team escaped ‘without leaving a trace’.

After fulfilling their mission, they all ended up fleeing. But how did they manage to evade justice? They started with the ‘Donatello plan’ in reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because they would escape down the drain. The band used a gap to move through the sewers and in the opposite direction of the Río de La Plata. Jewelry and more than 9 million dollars were taken.

When the police caught them they were only able to recover around a million, the rest “disappeared”.

Fernando Araujo (the mastermind behind the robbery), Luis Mario Vittete (business with the Police), Sebastián García (built the dike that facilitated the escape), Rubén de La Torre (he was the first to be arrested), Julían Zalloechevarría (he was the driver of the robbery), ‘El Doc’ and ‘El Nene’, of the latter it is not known more than that they helped in the robbery. All of them escaped, but it was because of one that the team fell.

These men got away from everything and went unnoticed for a long time; however, the infidelity of one of them caused the plan they had thought so much about not to be caught to be thrown overboard.

De La Torre’s wife discovered that her partner was unfaithful. Because of this, she did not hesitate to approach the police to reveal everything she knew about the “great robbery” and to expose her husband, one of the perpetrators of the robbery. When the names were known, everything was simpler, one by one they fell and ended up sentenced for their crime.

Currently, they are already free after serving their sentence, some are owners of jewelry stores, others have participated in the famous Netflix documentary “The Thieves: The True Story of the Robbery of the Century”. A feature film where they told their version of events.

Source-larepublica.pe