Officer dies in `battle with 80 armed robbers`

A police officer and three suspects were killed in a gunfight involving dozens of gang members following Paraguay’s “robbery of the century”. The 80-strong armed gang, believed to be from Brazil, blew up the front of the Prosegur security firm building in the city of Ciudad del Este, before making off with an estimated £31 million. Officials said three civilians were also injured in a blaze of bullets and torched vehicles during the three-hour attack in the South American country`s second-largest city. The officer and robbers perished hours later in an ensuing gun battle with Brazilian police across the border, the Paraguayan Interior Ministry said. Five members of the gang were arrested in Itaipulandia, 40 miles north of Ciudad del Este, the ministry added. The robbers, armed with assault rifles, used explosives to gain access to the vault at a cash-storage facility in the Paraguayan border city, which is known for its criminal gang activity. “The criminals used snipers to guarantee their escape and torched more than ten vehicles to distract the police,” said the head of the investigation, Arsenio Correa. Video footage showed burned armoured cars outside the crumbling remains of the company`s building. One eyewitness described the noise made around the city during the robbery as like “bombs in a war”. Ciudad del Este sits in the `Triple Border` region, where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet and where contraband electronics, drugs and arms flow across porous borders. Primeiro Comando da Capital, a major criminal organisation in Brazil, is suspected of being behind the attack, police spokesperson Augusto Lima said. Armed with assault rifles, the assailants are thought to have made their escape to Brazil by motorboat via the Parana river. Brazilian President Michel Temer promised to support Paraguayan police “with all necessary resources.” He added: “The Brazilian government expresses solidarity with the victims of this criminal act and, especially, with the relatives of the dead Paraguayan policeman.”