Suspected robbers over the weekend broke into Nairobi’s Habib Bank AG Zurich and walked away with an unknown amount of cash.
The criminals are said to have accessed the bank located along Nairobi’s Koinange street through the back door, proceeded to the second floor of the premises, where they disabled the alarm and CCTV cameras, before entering the banking area. They then broke into the money safes using gas and welding machines.
Nairobi County Commander Joseph Ole Tito said the thieves covered the bank’s tinted glass windows with papers to prevent security guards from seeing what was going on inside.
“They took their time because we have found food leftovers meaning they even had the time to eat inside the bank. They have really done a lot of destruction inside there, but they did not manage to get into the strong room,”Tito said.
Indications were clear that they had all the time to eat in the premises as left-overs of githeri, beef, chicken, rice and chips were found scattered on the floor and counters.
The strong room, which contained Sh41 million was found intact when detectives opened it on Monday morning.There were signs they attempted to access the strong room, but failed.
“This must be an inside job, by people who knew how to access the bank through the rear gate, the location of the CCTV cameras, the alarm, the safes and the strong room,” Mr Tito said.
On Monday, the bank redirected clients to the Westlands and South B branches. Police have launched investigations into the incident.
