Co-op robber suspect arrested

A 35-YEAR-OLD Bulgarian man was arrested on Saturday morning as a suspect in the theft of €22,000 from the Kontea co-operative in Dromolaxia earlier in August.
According to police sources, at around 8:30 am on Saturday, Larnaca CID raided the Bulgarian’s home in Meneou, where they found most of the stolen money stashed under the roof tiles and in the hood used by the perpetrator in the robbery.
The suspect will be brought before the Larnaca district court on Sunday for remand.
A recent separate robbery had led police to suspect the man, and a court case against him in that incident is pending.
Police said that they tracked down the suspect after evaluating the perpetrator’s description provided by the co-op’s employees, his movements as recorded by the bank’s CCTV, and his criminal record.
The co-op robbery took place on August 22 shortly before 1 pm when an unidentified man in a black long shirt, whose face was covered with a hood, entered the branch through the electrically controlled entrance along with an unsuspecting female customer.
The perpetrator produced a firearm, possibly a fake, and asked the three cashiers for money in broken English.
After being handed some €22,000, he departed on foot.
However, his movements were recorded by the branch CCTV, which led police to launch a manhunt to locate the robber.

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