Businessman Accused of Masterminding ‘Cinematic’ Niterói Heist Surrenders, Detention Upheld

Overview

• Alexandre Ceotto turned himself in at the consumer crimes police unit in Rio after months on the run and had his preventive arrest maintained following a custody hearing at the Benfica prison complex.
• Civil Police say Ceotto planned the February 7 theft at the Orizzonte by Atlântica apart-hotel, while attorney Luís Maurício Martins Gualda confessed to carrying out the crime and named Ceotto as the mentor.
• Security footage shows the executor in a suit, gloves and a hyper‑realistic silicone mask accessing staff-only areas, breaking into an apartment and spending about 16 to 18 minutes inside before leaving on foot to a pre‑parked car traced by investigators.
• Investigators report that about ten luxury watches worth roughly R$80,000 were taken during the break‑in.
• Police are analyzing seized devices from a May operation and examining evidence that Ceotto supplied the floor plan and the resident’s routine based on a reported belief that a large cash stash was inside the unit.