Armed bandits fail
in bid to rob bank
~ One employee injured ~
MARIGOT--Employees of Banque des Antilles Françaises (BDAF) in Bellevue were left in shock early Tuesday morning just before opening time when four armed bandits gained entry into the premises via the back door in an attempt to gain access to the bank’s safe.
Eyewitnesses said the thieves simply punched in an access code at the back door of the bank and entered.
Commandant Baras confirmed the incident occurred at 8:20am and lasted about two minutes. With no cards or codes to access the interior offices, the thieves fired three shots to break the locks of the office doors, but reportedly the bullets ran out when they reached the access door to the safe.
The robbers left without taking any money. However, one employee was slightly injured in circumstances that were not exactly clear. Baras said the female employee may have been injured either by the barrel of a gun or at the hands of one of the bandits. She was transported to hospital.
The Commandant noted the getaway vehicle used by the thieves, a white Suzuki Vitara, was found abandoned in Cole Bay later after Gendarmes had passed on the information to the Dutch side police.
A witness who was close to the scene when the incident took place described two of the men who escaped.
“They were black. One of them was tall and large, and looked like he was wearing one of those false Rasta wigs,” the witness recalled.
“The other man was smaller with short hair, and both of them had large kit bags. I don’t think they had masks on. It all happened so fast. They escaped in pairs in different directions,” a man who noticed them escape in a car and remembered the license plate number told the Gendarmes.
The bank was closed for the remainder of the day. The bank manageress who was busy with the investigating Gendarmes and other officials declined to discuss details of the incident.
