Security alarm system foils bank robbery

An attempt by suspected robbers to break into the GCB Bank branch at Fise Junction, near Pokuase in the Greater Accra Region at dawn last Saturday was foiled by an alarm that went off on the premises.

The suspects allegedly tried to cut the burglar-proof window to give them access to a corridor leading to the strong room of the bank.

The quick response by a private security man on duty at the bank caused the suspects to flee.

Inspection

Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mrs Effia Tenge, said the police received a distress call at 1:30 a.m. last Saturday about the robbery attempt and quickly dispatched a team to the scene.

At the scene, the security man told the police that he had heard the alarm system sounding at the back of the building and he moved towards the sound.

While moving towards the place, the police said, the private security man claimed he saw an unidentified person jump over the fence wall and bolted.

Investigators

Later, when a team of investigators, led by the Amasaman Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Eric Teye Asare, visited the scene, they found that gas tubes were laid from outside the wall to the window of the corridor leading to the strong room.

The gas tubes were connected to a gas cylinder filled with gas.

The team also found that the suspected robbers had used the gas equipment to aid them to cut the burglary proof window in order to gain access to the corridor and subsequently to the strong room.

However, the investigations revealed that the censor of the alarm triggered when the suspects attempted entering through the window.

Further search conducted by the team led to the retrieval of a cutter, which was found near the window, and a welding equipment which had been abandoned in the corridor, together with about 10 nylon sacks.

The two gas pipes were traced over the wall to the back of a nearby school where two gas cylinders were found.

The scene was cordoned off to preserve evidence, while the local police contacted the crime scene team of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to assist with investigations.