Cleaner finds sleepy bank robber

A BURGLAR who broke into a co-op bank in Nicosia was arrested yesterday after falling asleep when he couldn’t find anything of value.

He was found by a cleaner early in the morning, but missed by a police patrol dispatchjed to the building when he triggered the alarm.

The 23-year-old suspect was yesterday remanded in custody for eight days under investigation for attempted burglary and illegal possession of a knife.

According to police sources, the man had unsuccessfully tried to take money out of the ATM machine at the PAYDY co-op in Nicosia. He then broke into the building at around 2.40am yesterday, using a ladder to climb onto the ceiling of the building, smashing down one of the windows and triggering the alarm which was linked to the nearby police station.

The suspect is thought to have tried to open the safe and, after failing, then took an orange juice out of the fridge, sat down at a desk and fell asleep.

He finally woke up and ran away when a cleaning lady found him sleeping at the desk a couple of hours later.

The 23-year-old was picked up by police a short time later not far from the co-op.
Questions have been raised how a police patrol dispatched to the scene when the alarm went off failed to notice that the co-op had been broken into.

Responding to questions yesterday, Nicosia Police Chief Kypros Michaelides said that a police patrol car was dispatched to the area but left after a cursory check failed to spot any signs of a break-in.

He also stated that the broken window by which the culprit entered and exited the offices could not be seen properly from the outside.

“It is a common phenomenon for an alarm to be triggered because of faulty wiring,” added Michaelides.

“We are currently looking into why the point of entry was not noticed by the initial patrol that went to the offices… The investigations into the break-in are continuing but we are at a preliminary stage.”

Investigators found a knife in the possession of the suspect and some pills and travel documents that are currently being investigated.

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