Armed robber caught by public after bank raid

MEMBERS of the public bundled an armed robber to the ground as he fled a Larnaca co-op bank clutching thousands of euros yesterday.

Police were yesterday still searching for his accomplice in the raid on the Teachers’ Co-Op in the centre of the town.

The two men had managed to take €50,000, of which €20,000 were recovered on the man arrested.

Investigators yesterday managed to secure witness reports on the wanted man’s identity – though not from his friend – and requested an arrest warrant be issued by Larnaca District Court.

The incident took place a little after 11am, when two hooded men entered the Co-op, where there were two cashiers, the shop’s manager and a client.

Both were holding guns and shouted, “Money, money!” in English.

They ran out of shop holding thousands of euros in their hands, while their actions were recorded by the bank’s CCTV system. At the same time, the alarm had gone off and the police were on their way.

A number of members of the public pursued the two men down Lefkada Street, where they managed to immobilise one of them and hand him over to the police, who had just arrived. The gun in his possession proved to be a toy one.

A large number of bank notes fell to the ground during the arrest. The other suspect managed to escape.

Deputy Head of Larnaca Police Operations, Christakis Papadopoulos, yesterday thanked the public for their help in arresting the robbers.

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