A 39-year-old Ladysmith man was caught outside First National Bank's main branch in Eshowe at the weekend, along with 60kg of tools he had used to allegedly break into the bank.
Police spokesperson Musa Khaba said the man was one of three suspects who had broken into the bank late on Saturday night after disconnecting the CCTV cameras and all but one of the alarm system wires.
"They broke the window of the ladies' toilets at the back and disconnected the alarm systems and the cameras," Khaba said.
"They managed to get inside the bank but the alarms were going off in the police station and at the security company. Apparently they missed one connection."
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| 'He had six boxes full of very heavy tools' |
"Police went and checked but saw nothing. They then went later with security guards and found the man outside the bank in a dark corner with gloves and a balaclava, and some metres away from him were the tools."
"He had six boxes full of very heavy tools. There were two other suspects with him who drove away in an Isuzu bakkie."
Khaba said the tools, packed in three boxes and three black leather bags, held bolt cutters, cutting torches, hacksaws, jigsaws and 12-pound hammers.
FNB provincial Head of Branch Banking Jabu Khete said the attempted robbery was the second of its kind in the province recently.
"We are very happy it was not successful and the culprit was caught. We only hope that this arrest will reduce the number of break-ins. Catching these culprits might even send a message that FNB is on guard and if you try and break in you will get caught," Khete said.
Khaba said the man was expected to appear in court in Eshowe on Tuesday.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Mercury on May 03, 2004
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