Robbery at K'si Central SG-SSB bank

The Deputy Manager of the Kumasi Central Branch of the SG-SSB Bank has been arrested as one of the key suspects after robbers broke into the strong room of the bank last Saturday and made away with an unspecified amount of cash.

The suspect, Mr David Asiedu Berchie, was arrested a few hours after the robbery to assist the police in their investigations.

Moments after the incident, the police arrested the 50-year-old deputy manager as one of the key suspects to assist in their investigations.
Some of the security men were also arrested but they were later released on police inquiry bail.

The robbers were said to have entered the bank by breaking through a back window.

They then opened the strong room with a key before making away with the cash.

Police sources said security men from a private security firm who kept guard at the bank, were probably outwitted by the robbers as they were reported not to have heard anything about the break-in throughout the period it lasted.

The police have mounted a search for the suspects and appealed to the public to offer information that might lead to their arrest.

After opening the strong room, the robbers succeeded in removing some iron bars that protected the room and carried away the unspecified amount of money without any notice by the security men around.

As the robbers escaped with their booty, they were alleged to have scattered a number of the currency notes along their escape route from the strong room to their entry point.

The activities of the unknown robbers affected business operations of the bank last Saturday as customers who converged on the premises of the bank to withdraw money for their businesses and the Christmas festivities were disappointed because the bank did not open for any business.

Those who went there to deposit money also had to return to their offices and homes disappointed, for the same reason.

The Ashanti Regional Police Public Affairs Officer, Inspector Mohammed Tanko, who confirmed the incident in an interview, said the police could not completely rule out the involvement of some staff of the bank but added that "for now, it is too early to suspect anything like that. However; we strongly believe that the deputy manager can assist the police in our investigations, hence his arrest".

He said investigations into the case would go very deep in a bid to unravel the mystery surrounding the robbery, especially how the robbers succeeded in opening the strong room with a key before removing the protective iron bars to get access to the cash.

Inspector Tanko said there was no evidence of the use of weapons by the unknown persons who broke into the strong room.

He said the police would also stretch investigations to cover why the internal security rnen guarding the bank did not hear anything regarding the entry of the robbers into the bank.

He explained that the strong room had two main doors, including an emergency one, and investigations showed that the robbers opened the emergency room with a key, before taking out some iron bars that protected it to get access to the money.