Eight men hijacked a VASP airliner and stole the equivalent of almost (U.S.) $3 million from the cargo hold. The Boeing 737-200 aircraft had just taken off from Foz de Iguacu when the hijackers took over the plane. The men forced the pilot to land on a remote airstrip in the northern forests of Parana and fled with the money bags in a waiting getaway vehicle. The pilot then flew the plane to Londrina, which was closer than the original destination, and was immediately surrounded by police units upon landing. All the hijackers had fled from the plane at the airstrip, however. Although at least one shot was fired during the incident there were no injuries. Because the hijackers boarded the plane as passengers, police suspect that they were aided by airport employees in smuggling aboard their weapons. The alleged leader of the hijackers, a key Brazilian drug dealer, was arrested on August 29.