Thieves dig tunnel under Kenyan bank, make away with over $482,000

Robbers in Kenya took a rather unconventional mode of entering a bank and making away with cash to the tune of 50 million Kenyan shillings (equivalent to $482,000).

The police confirmed the incident which happened on Monday at the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) in Thika – an industrial town in Kiambu County, located north east of the capital, Nairobi.

The bank manager told the police that he found that cash had been stolen from two of the bank’s vault early Monday morning. “They broke into two safes…it is believed they used oxy-acytelene flames to drill holes into them,” police said.

Local media reports that the robbers had dug the tunnel which breaks off at a sewer line. Photos shared on social media show part of the tunnel leading into the bank. Some reports say they dug the tunnel over a period of six months. No arrests have so far been made.

Even though customers thronged the bank premises which had been cordoned off by police officers and investigators, the bank assured that depositors money was safe.

“There is no cause for alarm. Customers seeking to transact can do so at any other KCB branch or access services through our mobile and Internet banking platforms,” the bank said in a statement.

Photo credit: Kenya’s ‘The Star’ news portal