In a twist of events, residents of Lapaz are still reeling from a dramatic robbery attempt that unfolded in the area this afternoon. The robbery, which began as a planned theft, took an unexpected turn when the robbers found themselves trapped inside the Rahama Forex Bureau.
Moments later, the building was surrounded by heavily armed police officers.
According to reports, two suspected armed robbers had reportedly entered the Rahama Forex Bureau near the Las Palmas area of the busy Abeka Lapaz enclave.
They ordered workers at the forex bureau to hand over all cash when they entered. All the while pointing the guns they were holding at them.
While inside the Forex bureau in the busy business area, some eyewitnesses outside mustered courage and managed to lock the outside door. This trapped the suspected robbers and workers inside the Forex bureau.
The eyewitness then went ahead and informed the police about the robbery incident.
First, police responders, numbering about 20, arrived at the scene, followed by another batch, who also numbered about 20. This was around the time the robbers and the workers were thought to be still inside the Forex bureau.
The police surrounded the area and cleared the enclosure, pushing eyewitnesses beyond the cordoned area.
They spent about 20 minutes strategizing on how to enter the Forex bureau, located on the ground floor of the storey building, to disarm the robbers.
While planning all these, more armed and intelligence-gathering police officers arrived at the scene. However, upon entering, the police found only the workers in the forex bureau.
The suspected armed robbers were nowhere to be found, according to reports.
The police, however, reportedly retrieved footage captured by CCTV cameras located in the Forex bureau for analysis.
The police have released a public statement for the manhunt of the suspected robbers.
Read the statement below:
