4 Men Held in Brazilian Bank Heist

Police detained four men in connection with a $70-million theft from Brazil’s Central Bank and recovered more than $2 million, officials said Friday.

The cash was found hidden in three pickup trucks, which were being transported by a larger truck, several hundred miles from the ransacked vault in the northeastern city of Fortaleza.

Authorities said two men in the transporter truck and two others who own a car dealership had been placed under temporary arrest, allowing them to be held for 10 days without being charged.

Federal police spokeswoman Sabrina Albuquerque said investigators had discovered that the dealership received cash for several vehicles.

When police intercepted the transporter near the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, it was carrying 11 vehicles. A search uncovered about $2 million stashed in the seats, bodywork and spare tires of the pickups.

“We still have to inspect eight cars on the transporter, and we think more cash will be found,” Albuquerque said.

Police said the robbery occurred sometime last weekend while the bank was closed. They said about 10 men spent three months digging a tunnel -- about 260 feet long and 28 inches high -- from a rented house to the vault.