Some armed robbers that attacked a new generation bank at Trans-Amadi road in Port harcourt, Rivers state yesterday October 14th abandoned their operational vehicle, a Lexus jeep after they were overpowered by the Rivers state police command who engaged them in a fierce gun battle.
Items recovered from the vehicle included stolen money to the tune of 137 million Naira, one AK 47 rifle, rocket, an English made pistol and six magazines. The fleeing robbers also abandoned another Lexus jeep at Rukpokwu along with three magazines and 160 rounds of 7.62 live ammunition.
Eyewitnesses said armed robbers attacked a bullion van from Diamond Bank regional office located in Trans Amadi in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The police were called and swooped on the robbers who had succeeded in packing millions of naira stacked in bags inside a van, which was later taken to the command’s headquarters located along Moscow road, Port Harcourt.
Bundles of cash of 1,000 naira denomination were seen stuffed inside a Lexus GX 470, SUV. Bank staff and police officers were at the headquarters with their counting machines to ascertain the actual amount of the recovered cash which is in the hundreds of millions.
Police sources said that the criminals escaped and abandoned their vehicle after a gun battle with police officers. Detectives are working on the theory that the robbers may have acted on inside information or they might have trailed the bullion van to the bank premises.
A senior police officer revealed that the fleeing hoodlums numbered about seven, were fully armed and operated in two vehicles. He said that the robbers stormed the bank when the staff were transferring the bags of money into a bullion van.
A police spokesman Deputy Superintendent Ahmad Muhammad confirmed that the police received a distress call a few minutes after 5pm, and responded swiftly.
Muhammad stated that the robbers abandoned the vehicle containing the cash and escaped in another vehicle.
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