It is no longer news that a Special Anti-Robbery Squad from the Rivers State Police Command foiled a bank robbery in Port Harcourt on Wednesday involving a seven-man gang.
The robbers were said to have fled the scene of the robbery after an exchange of gunfire with police, leaving behind their operational vehicle, a Lexus SUV containing bags of cash mainly in 1,000 naira denomination notes stolen from the bank.
What is however new is that the Police have confirmed that a little over N137million was abandoned by the robbers inside the Lexus GX 470 SUV with plate number: Rivers KRK 209 BX, TVC News reported.
The robbery which took place on a bullion van belonging to the Diamond Bank regional office in Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt, was reportedly foiled on a tip-off to police.
The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ahmad Muhammed, said that the command received a distress call and responded promptly, leading to the foiling of the robbery.
He had said that the amount involved ran into “three digits in millions”.
Bank workers armed with counting machines on Wednesday reportedly followed the police to the State Police Command, Port Harcourt, to count the recovered amount.
There has been an increase in bank robberies in the country in recent times, including one in FESTAC Town, Lagos on Tuesday in which an innocent woman and her baby were killed by a stray bullet, and bandits numbering at least 40 in military fatigues carted away an unspecified amount of cash.