BOC security guard foils MVR 5 million snatch theft attempt

Security at Bank of Ceylon (BOC) in Male’ has intervened to foil an attempt to steal MVR 5 million in cash transported for deposit to the bank.

The case was reported to the police at approximately 11:47 am on Sunday.

A police spokesperson confirmed an attempt to steal a large sum of money from a company for deposit to a bank has been reported to the police.

The spokesperson did not specify the company to which the money belong to, or the amount of money involved.

Sun has been informed the money belongs to Root, a large-scale distributor of tobacco products. A reliable source told Sun that the money, packed in a cardboard box, amounts to approximately MVR 5 million.

CCTV video footage of the robbery attempt has gone viral over social media platforms. The footage covers the road towards the entrance of the bank, and shows four men wearing long-sleeved black shirts and jeans, as well as masks and helmets, close on the van used to transport the money on two motorcycles as it parks in front of the bank, before attacking staffers from Root and attempting to snatch the cardboard box.

???? #VIDEO: Bank of Ceylon kurimathin root ge faisaa hifaigen ai Vehicle in feyren ulhunu bayaku Bank ge security in huhtuvaifi.

Ithuru mauloomaathu: https://t.co/f1HD54QMUQ https://t.co/ZXC2k9eMaG pic.twitter.com/xjYWORa0V9

— #MvCrisis ???????? (@MvCrisis) October 25, 2020

The robbers took the cardboard box containing the money after dragging a female staffer out of the van. As the rbbers attempt to flee with the box, a security guard rushes out of the bank and confiscates the box from them.

A foreign worker who drives by the road on a motorcycle witnesses the situation and runs after the robbers.

The case is under investigation by the police.

Police have received reports of 2,855 robberies and thefts so far this year, including 265 cases for far this October.