Hooded robbers strike parcel shipping van

AN EMPLOYEE of a parcel-delivery company was robbed by a hooded attacker, while making his daily delivery to a bank on Amanthus Avenue in Limassol, police said yesterday.

The incident took place at 6.30am when the 51-year-old was about to place a sack in a specially-designed mailbox at the bank. A hooded man approached the 51-year-old, hit him on the head with a club and took the sack. An accomplice was waiting for the robber inside a car, which the hooded man used to flee the scene.

As the 51-year-old parcel-delivery employee followed the same route every day, police believe the robbers had been following the man prior to the attack.

The victim was taken to Limassol General Hospital, where doctors treated him for a bruise to the head and a cut to the left elbow. The man was given first aid treatment and released.

The escape vehicle was later discovered by police, hidden and abandoned at the nearby Armenohori area. “The escape vehicle was found abandoned, hidden under a tree at a distance of about a kilometer from where the robbery took place,” said Andreas Angelides, Senior Police Officer.

A few hours later, the vehicle was reported stolen by a 31-year-old third-country national, who is a permanent resident of Limassol. The man told police that the vehicle had been stolen while parked outside his Yermasoyia residence. “The stolen vehicle report was made after the robbery took place at approximately 10am on Monday. We do not believe the 31-year-old is involved in the robbery,” Angelides said.

Police officers searched the scene where the car was found and also found the stolen sack, which included only mail and bank cheques, but no cash. The bank has already cancelled the cheques. “We believe the robbers expected to find money in the sack,” Angelides added.

The robbers did not speak to their victim, which makes their identification even more difficult. The 51-year-old described his attacker as heavily-built, 1.90m tall and possibly a non-EU national.

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