February 24, 2014, 10:23 pm
By Norman Palihawadana and Madura Ranwala
Armed robbers wearing full face helmets staged a heist at a private bank in Kohuwala, yesterday morning.
Three other heists have been carried out in a similar manner in Matugama, Malabe and Negombo recently.
Two robbers armed with a gun and a sword entered the Nations Trust Bank Kohuwala branch around 10.20 a.m. and got away with nearly Rs. 1.5 million in cash and a gold chain snatched from a female bank officer.
The duo also grabbed Rs. 55,000 from a customer.
They had used a red motorcycle for the robbery, the police said.
The robbery took place near the Balapokuna Junction, where the bank is situated and the suspects entered the premises as ordinary customers.
Kohuwala police who had commenced investigations by examining the CCTV camera footage of the bank would be able to arrest the robbers very soon, a senior police officer told The Island.
Police have recorded statements from 15 eyewitnesses.
According to the police bank security officers were not armed at the time of the incident and they were being questioned.
The bank branch was closed after the robbery.
Six teams from the Kohuwala Police have been deployed to arrest the suspects.
Another team from the Mount Lavinia Crime Unit is also investigating the heist.
