{One person is in police custody, while for others are still on the run after Police reacted fast to foil their attempt to break through and rob a Bank Populaire branch in Kayonza District, Eastern Province. }
The incident happened in the wee hours of Monday morning in Mukarenge Sector.
According to Police Spokesman for the Eastern Province, Inspector of Police, Emmanuel Kayigi, the five suspected robbers wielded metallic bars which they used to hammer a hole through the bank’s building.
“A security guard at the bank notified Police the moment he saw the robbers trying to break through and within a few minutes, we had arrived at the scene,” IP Kayigi said, adding that: “We managed to arrest one of them but the other four had disappeared.”
IP Kayigi said that intensive investigations are being carried out to apprehend the other four and go as far as finding out whether they operate in a ring that could be involved in varied crimes in the country.
He commended the professionalism of the security guard who alerted Police in time and urged the public to come forth with news that may lead to the arrest of the suspects.
“These suspects were ready to use violence since they were armed with machetes; and the security guard could have been in danger had they spotted him. It is always wise to involve Police as soon as possible in such circumstances because we have the ability to respond efficiently,” he said.
Bank robberies are a rare occurrence in Rwanda, with the most recent being an incident in April 2013, when four suspects in Nyanza District were arrested as they attempted to break into a local branch of Banque Populaire du Rwanda.
Article 303 of the Penal Code stipulates that theft with violence or threats is punishable by a term of imprisonment of seven to ten years.
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