Police foil bank robbery at Tema

The Tema Community One Police is investigating the circumstances under which armed robbers allegedly broke into the National Investment Bank branch at the Meridian enclave on Sunday dawn.

They, however, did not steal anything.

According to a report by the Ghanaian Times newspaper, the robbers, numbering six, armed with knives and other implements entered the banking hall at about 2:15 am after breaking the back emergency exit door.

They are said to have ransacked the teller drawers and secured one of the two vault keys but threw it away on realising they could not access the vault.

According to the report, the robbers also attempted to remove a flat screen television set and a decoder but abandoned it and bolted by scaling the fence wall.

It said a security man alerted armed police on duty and they both rushed to the exit door ready to engage them.

The newspaper also reported that on Saturday after the bank closed at 4:00 pm, a security man by name Bernard Baah, during routine checks to ensure switches had been turned off among other things, found a polythene bag containing an amount of GH¢35,534.00 left behind by the Head Teller, Mrs Medina Ablorh, and hid it in the boot of one of the bank’s cars parked in the yard.

Baah, after locking the bank, gave the keys to his supervisor, Christian Ago, who sent same to the police station for safe keeping.

For unknown reasons, Baah did not inform his supervisor immediately about the money in the polythene bag. The money turned out to be National Lottery Authority coupon sales supposed to have been lodged into the authority’s account.

Interestingly Baah informed the supervisor about the money in the polythene bag Sunday morning after the botched robbery operation.

The Tema Community One District Commander Chief Superintendent Stephen K. Kwakye confirmed the incident to the Ghanaian Times on Wednesday and said it was under investigation.

Meanwhile, Medina Ablorh who was detained on Tuesday by police to assist in investigations was bailed on Wednesday.

Chief Supt Kwakye said six break-ins had been recorded among some financial institutions located in the Meridian enclave since January 2019, adding police was doing all it can to unravel those behind those robberies.