26 July 2007

Wellington And Auckland Aggravated Bank Robberies Linked

Police have linked an aggravated robbery of the National Bank 188 Lambton Quay Wellington, which occurred at 3.46pm yesterday, with an aggravated robbery of the ANZ Bank, 166 Great South Road Manurewa, which occurred at 11.05am on Monday 23 July.

Detective Sergeant Glenn Williams says the CCTV images of the offender from the Wellington robbery on Wednesday bear a striking similarity to the CCTV images of the male who committed the robbery in Auckland on Monday.

"We believe that when he committed the Wellington robbery the offender was armed with a knife. Members of the public should not approach this man.

"He's potentially traveling around the country and may attempt another bank robbery."

Police are still seeking witnesses to the Lambton Quay robbery and people who saw the offender fleeing after he left the bank.

The offender ran west from Lambton Quay towards The Terrace up Woodward Street.

He made his way to a walkway that runs parallel to the Wellington urban motorway between the Clifton Terrace car park and Aurora Terrace and stopped at a pedestrian shelter opposite San Sebastian Road.

The offender is described as:

• a dark skinned male of unknown ethnicity• in his 20s• about 6ft tall and of thin to medium build

At the time of the Lambton Quay robbery the male was wearing:

• black wrap-around sunglasses• blue 'NY' Yankees baseball cap• oversized light brown 'calfskin' jacket to the top of the leg• loose fitting dark jeans• black sneakers with white laces• he was carrying a black satchel with a shoulder strap and a large red manufacturers tag on the end.

Police are also seeking a jogger, who is a potential witness, seen in the area where the offender dumped his clothing and his bag. He has been described as:

• male Maori or Polynesian• short hair• green 'Adidas' T-shirt• white three quarter length pants• sweatband on his left wrist• white shoes

Police ask anyone who witnessed the robbery at the bank or the offender fleeing the scene to contact Wellington CIB on Tel: (04) 381 2000.

ENDS

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