By Charlie Charalambous
THREE men suspected of taking part in Thursday’s armed bank robbery in Ypsonas were remanded in custody yesterday by a Limassol district court.
Panicos Chrysostomou, 19, and Pantelis Ioannou, 26, were both remanded for eight days; Herodotos Petasis, 34, was detained for five days.
Police said they had strong evidence to link all three to the Bank of Cyprus robbery.
A 42-year-old housewife, who was arrested with the others, was released at lunchtime yesterday due to lack of evidence.
Petasis, from Kato Polemidia, was spotted by an eye-witness driving the Fiat getaway car soon after the robbery, police said.
The white Fiat Mirafiori was found outside the Limassol home of Chrysostomou yesterday; he had also been seen the day before the attack, cruising in the car outside the bank.
Police said they had evidence to suggest that Ioannou, a builder, had bought the new battery for the stolen motocross bike used during the robbery and later found abandoned.
Police have yet to recover the stolen money and the weapons used in the raid.
Two masked gunmen, wearing blue overalls and brandishing a shotgun and a pistol, raided the Bank of Cyprus branch in Ypsonas village outside Limassol. An official audit by the bank yesterday found they had stolen £19, 400, significantly more than the £12,000 originally reported.
It was the second armed robbery to target the Bank of Cyprus in as many weeks, making it three raids in the last few months for the island’s largest financial institution.
A police manhunt had immediately been launched to catch the thieves, backed up by a helicopter and sniffer dogs. The arrests were made less than 24 hours after the crime.
The two culprits who held up a Bank of Cyprus branch in Nicosia on February 12 have yet to be caught.
In the Nicosia heist, two gunmen got away with £60,000 after claiming poverty to the frightened cashiers.
Limassol police said they are investigating whether the two robberies might be connected.
The Bank of Cyprus has tried to allay fears about security, but employees union Edyk yesterday strongly criticised banks for cutting corners and putting lives at risk.
“For over six years we’ve been waiting for the introduction of cameras to prevent crime, but, because of the cost, the banks want to avoid paying,” Edyk union boss Loizos Hadjicostis said yesterday.
Deputy police chief Andreas Stefanou seemed to back the union’s view:
“The banks must take responsibility for basic security measures to protect the staff and public,” said Stefanou.
He added: “there just aren’t the resources to safeguard all banks and I don’t think the public want to pay for us to protect the inside of banks.”
Such criticism does not sit well with institutions likes the Bank of Cyprus, which recently announced 1998 operating profits of £65.3 million, an increase of 21 per cent on the previous year.
The island’s bank employees have long complained that security at most branches – such as private guards and close-circuit TV – is conspicuous by its absence.
The Bank of Cyprus has nevertheless issued a statement saying it is ready to implement all necessary security measures to protect its staff and the general public.
“The bank assures the public that it will take all necessary steps to address this worrying problem.”
