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Crack detectives weekend foiled attempt by some armed robbers to blow up and rob one of the old generation banks in Ondo State by digging an underground tunnel into the premises.
The gang, it was gathered, had dug over 15 meters into the bank premises from the fence which is behind the bank at Alagbaka area where it is located in Akure metropolice.
Vanguard learned that the tunnel was able to contain three persons at a time, while the place from where the hoodlums operated, is isolated from other buildings.
It was gathered that the tunnel would have been dug into the banking hall if it had not been discovered by the detectives.
Police source said the gang that planned the robbery would have operated at the weekend when the bank staff would not be at work.Sources said the bankers would have resumed to discover that the banks vault had been blown off and all the money carted away.
Speaking in Akure, the Commissioner of Police, Mike Ogbodu, said:
“It was the banks’ surveillance squad that discovered the long tunnel dug by the suspected armed robbers behind the Ado/Owo Road branch of the bank.’’
“The length of the tunnel dug from the perimeter fence of the bank into the bank premises was about 10 to 15 meters.“The tunnel was apparently prepared to serve as a passage to the bank premises to carry out their nefarious act without being noticed.’’
According to the Police chief who conducted newsmen round the scene, items recovered include shovel, diggers and other tools, biscuits, pure water sachets and soft drinks.
“This is a new trend being employed by men of the underworld these days. Consequently, bank management are advised to be conscious of the happenings in their environment and also endeavour to always remove any barrier that could serve as cover for criminals,’’ the police commissioner said.
