This is the bizarre Tom Cruise moment a lawyer dons a hyper-realistic 'Mission Impossible'-style mask to plunder luxury watches worth GBP 10,500 from a luxury hotel apartment.

Criminal defence attorney Luis Mauricio Martins Gualda used the GBP 240 silicone full head mask to disguise himself for the raid in Niteroi, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Astonishing footage pieced together by police from CCTV recordings shows Gualda disappear into a gym with a full head of hair and a bag slung over his shoulder.

Minutes later he emerges dressed in a suit, shirt, tie and sunglasses wearing the totally bald mask with just a goatee beard.

Tracked by the cameras, he catches a cab and is seen entering the car park entrance at the aparthotel and using the service lift to get to the building's residential floors.

Then further footage shows him breaking into an apartment from where he stole 10 designer watches.

Gualda, 47, admitted the audacious heist from February this year (2025), after police showed him key clues that tied him to the crime.

Despite the disguise, the lawyer chose a tie he had frequently been seen wearing during his courtroom appearances.

And body language experts showed that the way he holds his hands and even the way he walks is identical to the way the crook moved.

In a further twist, it emerged that the mastermind of the raid was a former vice mayoral candidate named Alexandre Ceotto Andre.

Police say Andre had previously sold the apartment to the victim and was familiar with the property's layout and the target's collection of watches.

Investigators found the mask in a bin behind the hotel and seized clothing used in the burglary.

A civil police spokesperson described the crime as "cinematic" and say Andre, who fled after his accomplice was arrested, is on the run.