A pair of bank robbers in Brazil hatched a bizarre plan to wear aluminum foil in an attempt to beat the bank’s alarm system. Perhaps more bizarre is that it seemed to work – until CCTV cameras foiled their plan.

Aluminum Cloaks “Foiled”

The would-be robbers wrapped themselves from head to toe in aluminum foil, a disguise which was designed as a way to avoid detection by the Banco do Brasil’s security system. Surprisingly, the aluminum cloaks appeared to work, as the alarm never sound when the men entered the bank. The robbers apparently forgot that the bank was also equipped with a central CCTV monitoring system, where their presence was detected by security staff who was monitoring the video feed at the bank’s regional headquarters.

Once the men were spotted by the cameras, an armed police response was sent to the scene. Although the two foil-wrapped men were able to escape, a third man believed to be their lookout was arrested. That man eventually confessed to being part of the foiled heist.

“They wanted to make sure the alarms didn’t detect their presence by using the tin foil, but staff at the bank’s CCTV control HQ saw them moving around and alerted police. We searched the area and stopped people near the bank and found a suspect who was hiding in bushes and had a police record that we took in for questioning,” a police spokesman said.

Police released pictures of the foil-wrapped robbers crawling on the floor, although it wasn’t helpful in identifying the crooks.

The cloaked thieves never managed to get any cash, but they did leave behind blowtorches, which were meant to be used to open a safe.