Police release sketch of bank burglars

Police have released the sketch of two men believed to be members of a gang that broke into a bank in Tandang Sora, Quezon City the other day.

The sketches were based on the description of witnesses who noticed the suspicious behavior of the suspects prior to the break-in.

The Central Police District-Criminal Investigation Unit said the burglary was discovered at around 9 a.m. last Monday at the Allied Bank branch located at 289 Tandang Sora Avenue in Barangay Pasong Tamo.

When bank manager Rodolfo de los Santos arrived at the bank around 6:50 a.m. he found the alarm system destroyed. He immediately informed the bank’s head office.

Two hours later, personnel from the head office arrived and inspected the premises of the bank. They later discovered that the galvanized door at the second floor of the bank was also destroyed.

The cash vault was also destroyed by the thieves with the use of an acetylene torch. The vault was empty.

Senior Superintendent Procopio Lipana said there was no security guard manning the bank at the time and that the bank’s alarm system went off thrice, but the security agency checking it reported no untoward incident until De los Santos came in last Monday.

Lipana said the alarm system of the bank was connected only to the private security firm and not linked to any police station.

He also said the suspects gained entry to the blank by scaling the 15-foot wall at the back of the bank. They then gained entry through a door at the second floor. – Katherine Adraneda