Robbers Make Away With ?458,000

Four armed robbers on Sunday night stormed Bogoso Area Rural Bank's branch at Huni-Valley, tied the hands and legs of the watchman, sealed his mouth with a plaster, broke into the strong room and the banking hall and took away 462,000 cedis.

Narrating the incident to the Ghana News Agency at Huni-Valley, the watchman said after praying at about 12 midnight he was sitting down when four men, two wielding guns, pounced on him in front of the bank.

The robbers asked: "Which tribe do you belong to?"

"Wala," he answered.

"Keep quiet otherwise we shall kill you," they warned.

He said when he attempted to stand up one of the robbers held his hand behind him and tied it with a strong rope while the others tied his legs after which his mouth was plastered.

The watchman said one robber with a gun guarded him in front of the bank, another was hovering around to see if someone was approaching while the other two were breaking in through a window.

He said they entered the banking hall and later the strong room after the burglar proof and the louver blades were removed.

After trying in vain to break into the safe for about one hour, the robbers forced the drawers open and took away the money.

The watchman said he managed to untie the rope on his legs and ran to Huni-Valley Police station where the plaster on his mouth was removed and the rope on his hands were untied before lodging a complaint.

Mr James Asiedu Arthur, Branch Manager, said the robbers could not open the safe when they broke into the strong room but succeeded in taking away 458,000 cedis when they forced open some drawers.

He said 66,000 cedis of the amount belonged to the bank and 396,000 cedis to the staff.