Two men carried out armed bank robbery in Helsinki on Monday afternoon
Small sum of money taken; robbers made off in grey BMW
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An armed bank robbery took place on Monday afternoon in the Töölö district of Helsinki.
At around 14:45 p.m., two men entered the Sampo Bank branch office on the corner of Mannerheimintie and Runeberginkatu. One of them was armed, carrying a weapon that looked like a pistol.
No shots were fired, but the perpetrators left with what was described as a small sum of money. No customers were present in the bank at the time of the heist.
The two men fled through a gateway at 58 Mannerheimintie, leading to the inner yard of the apartment building, from where they continued to Ruusulankatu and further to Töölönkatu.
A grey BMW station wagon, a relatively new model, parked facing the oncoming traffic, was waiting for the robbers in Töölönkatu.
Apparently, the men entered the car, which then drove along Töölönkatu northwards towards Meilahti.
The police launched a major operation in order to catch the robbers, cordoning off the entire block.
Detective Inspector Mikko Halme from the Helsinki Police Department reports that several eyewitness observations were made of the fleeing robbers.
”The robbers could be traced until the grey BMW”, says Halme.
At present, the police are checking out CCTV footage in order to establish the escape route.
On the basis of some eyewitness statements, it is likely that the perpetrators were moving in the neighbourhood at least one hour before the robbery, observing the bank office.
The police suspect that the robbers are foreigners. However, for investigational reasons more detailed information about the men’s nationality cannot be given.
The men were between 30 and 40 years of age and between 1.80 and 1.85 metres in height. One of them was wearing a grey jacket, while the other had a black hooded sweater.
Any possibly useful information regarding the hold-up, the perpetrators, and the BMW station wagon can be reported to the police on (09) 89 4002.
Bank robberies of this type are these days something of a rarity, not least because criminals have realised the proceeds are unlikely to be worth the risk: banks today are not a great source of large quantities of loose cash.
The two men were still at large on Tuesday morning.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 12.8.2008 - TODAY |
 Two men carried out armed bank robbery in Helsinki on Monday afternoon |
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