Eye-witnesses to Turku robbery report seeing two vehicles fleeing

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The police have found some eye-witnesses who noticed three men fleeing from the Bank of Finland’s premises in Turku after robbing a money transport truck on Monday.
      "While no further eye-witnesses to the incident in the yard have reported to the police, certain subsequent events have begun to take shape", reports Detective Superintendent Teijo Ristola of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Finland's central criminal police.
     
Apparently, two cars have been involved in the escape of the robbers. One of the vehicles was a station wagon, which was followed by a sedan.
      Ristola notes further that the cars were seen speeding along Läntinen Rantakatu, then turning to Ursininkatu, and from there to Linnankatu towards Turku Harbour.
      The police are now looking forward to receiving further observations about the cars from the public. According to yesterday’s information, the getaway vehicle was probably waiting in the yard of a neighbouring building. However, it cannot be confirmed whether or not somebody was waiting for the three perpetrators in the car.
     
According to the NBI, a reward has been promised for any information leading to the arrest of the armed men responsible for the robbery.
      While cordoning off the area on Monday evening after the robbery, police found bundles of cash on the robbers’ escape route.
     
The police are continuing the search for the three robbers, while no breakthrough has been made so far, and several lines of investigation are being followed.
      Contrary to some published information, the cash transport was carried out according to all agreements, guidelines, and regulations, according to Det. Sup. Ristola. The police still have not revealed the exact amount of money stolen.
      Furthermore, it remains unclear whether or not the cash transports of the Bank of Finland had been monitored from a nearby spot and for how long.
     
One of the lines of investigation focuses on Sweden, which has seen a large number of similar cash truck robberies in recent years.
      ”All possible methods that are available to police will be adopted, including telesurveillance”, says Ristola.
      In fact, all passengers boarding the ferries to Sweden were photographed still on Wednesday morning, and the photos are being checked out for potential robbers.
      There has been some speculation that such a robbery was an inevitable progression: after a spate of such crimes in Sweden, pickings for such gangs have fallen off there in the wake of tighter security arrangements. A similar heist was carried out in the capital of the Åland Islands in August of last year.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Armed gang hits cash consignment; border surveillance tightened (20.2.2007)
  Police suspect international links in Turku robbery (21.2.2007)

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