What would have been adjudged the biggest robbery incident in Ondo State had been thwarted after the operatives of the state police command discovered a very large tunnel leading to the banking hall of a commercial bank in Akure, Ondo State capital.
The tunnel was reportedly dug from the fence of the bank, leading directly into the banking hall to make them enter the banking hall with much ease.
It was learnt that the tunnel could take up to three persons at a time as the back of the fence is an isolated area which would have made the suspects operated unhindered for hours.
Speaking to newsmen about the development, a source from the police said “If we had not discovered this tunnel and the robbery had taken place, it would have been adjudged as the biggest robbery incident in Ondo State.
“The gang apparently planned to carry out the bank robbery operation during the weekend, when they were sure, bankers wouldn’t be around.
“The bankers would have resumed on Monday to discover that all the money in the vault had been carted away!”
Confirming the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Mike Ogbodu, said it was the banks’ surveillance squad that discovered the long tunnel behind the Ado/ Owo Road branch of the bank.
“The length of the tunnel, dug from the perimeter fence of the bank, into the premises, was about 10 to 15 meters.
The tunnel was apparently prepared to serve as a passage into the bank premises to carry out their nefarious act without being noticed,” Ogbodu said.
Meanwhile, five suspects had been arrested and paraded by the police in connection with the crime.
Among them were a motorcycle snatcher and an Internet fraudster, who had been defrauding people with fake identity of eminent citizens of the state, including the Deputy Governor, Lasisi Oluboyo.
