Police closing in on suspected robbers

Police are closing in on suspected robbers in the heist at the Heritage Bank in Orange Walk Town earlier this week. A portion of the two hundred thousand dollars stolen has been recovered and police are questioning a number of suspects. The heist bore no similarities to last year’s robbery at the Scotiabank Spanish Lookout branch, in which a security guard was shot dead and well over a quarter million dollars were stolen. But still, the employees of the bank were traumatized. Our news team travelled north in search of answers today and News Five’s Marion Ali files this report.

Marion Ali, Reporting

Heritage Bank was opened as usual for business today, despite an attack earlier this week on the financial institution when it was hit by robbers.  Outside, a sole security guard stands alert as customers file in and out of the bank, located on the Belize Corozal Road.  But while for them it is business as usual, for the Belize Police Department, closing in on the culprits is high priority and they believe they have good leads.

Sgt. Fitzroy Yearwood, Police Press Officer

Fitzroy Yearwood

“We have several persons detained.  We have recovered a little bit of the money, hoping to recover more.  We have recovered a lot of items and hopefully we will be able to make an arrest over this weekend.”

Marion Ali

“Are any of the people detained from the same bank? And is a police officer involved?”

Sgt. Fitzroy Yearwood

“No police officer, to my knowledge, is involved in this.  We have to question all the persons from the bank.  Whether or not they will be charged, I’m not sure but we’re questioning them.”

While police are questioning the bank manager and other employees, word to News Five is that the bank manager’s life appeared to come under threat when the incident occurred.  When the robbers entered the bank on Wednesday afternoon, they reportedly handcuffed the guard and then instructed the manager to open the vault.  When she refused to comply, one of the thieves punched her in the mouth and then forced her to hand over two money bags.  An eyewitness told our affiliate in Orange Walk, CTV 3 off camera that he saw when two men, acting suspiciously, exited the Heritage Bank and walked up the Belize Corozal Road in the direction of Belize City.

Voice of Eyewitness

“At around one or one-thirty, I was at home lying down and I could see the bank.  I saw two people come out, they were dark skinned.  One of them had dreadlocks.  They didn’t look like bad people.  The media later arrived and I learned that they had just robbed the bank.  One of the men was wearing a green shirt while the other wore a light blue shirt and he had a kit bag.  They were both hurrying and walking close to each other in the direction of Belize City, as if nothing had happened.  I didn’t see if they had weapons and they were not wearing masks.”

The two men got into a vehicle and the driver sped off towards Belize City.  But it seems that they, or their cohorts, were all too eager to live the easy life and began spending the money lavishly – something that gave off warning signals to cops.

Sgt. Fitzroy Yearwood

“We have recovered some items that we believe are from the proceeds.”

Marion Ali

“I understand it was a network of individuals working together, some from Belize City, Orange Walk?”

Sgt. Fitzroy Yearwood

“Marion that’s too deep into the investigation.”

No weapons were left at the scene and police hope to lay charges over the weekend.  Marion Ali for News Five.