Police held in Sh3.5m bank heist

Police in Embakasi are holding three suspects, among them two police officers, in connection with the theft of Sh3.5 million from a city bank.

The third suspect, a 27-year-old cashier who was on duty when the robbers struck on Monday, is also assisting with investigations.

There has been progress in the case after two pistols reported stolen from the officers were recovered outside a hospital in Kiambu County on Monday night.

A security guard reported that two men on a motorcycle had dumped a package outside the gate before riding into the darkness. Police officers from Kiambu recovered the guns and informed their seniors.

Investigators believe that the theft at Prime Bank's Mombasa Road branch was well-planned and executed.

A video that has since gone viral shows at least four men dressed in green reflective jackets fleeing from the bank's compound. Some of the suspects were seen carrying what looked like the bags couriers use to transport money.

It is believed that they stashed the stolen cash into the bags before taking off in different directions.

The robbers appear to have done their homework well. As soon as they arrived at the building at around 2.45pm, one of the men is seen taking over duties at the main gate of the premises.

From the video, he confidently plays the role of security guard by opening the gate to let in motorists and allowing others to exit. His behaviour is unremarkable and he does not appear to be an armed criminal.

The man at the main gate and his second accomplice were casually dressed in jeans, greenish T-shirts, white sneakers and visor caps. Two men, also captured walking out of the building with a big bag reportedly filled with money, were also dressed in jackets similar to those worn by boda boda operators.

Officers from the Embakasi Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are, however, yet to make any connections between the armed gunmen, bank official and the policemen.

DCI chief George Kinoti confirmed the arrest of the two Administration Police officers based at the Critical Infrastructure Unit. Giving an update on Twitter, Kinoti said the officers were being interrogated to establish how they lost their weapons.

“The firearms were dropped by a motorbike pillion passenger outside Kiambu Hospital’s gate shortly before the motorbike disappeared into darkness," he said.