Sharjah: Sharjah Criminal Court on Sunday began the trial of a gang of five who were involved in the Habib Bank robbery in September last year.
The case was postponed to July 22 to hear the testimony of witnesses.
The case dates back to September 3, 2017, when three masked men raided the premises and fled with an unspecified amount of money.
During Sunday’s court hearing, the gang members — including three Arab men and two Africans — told the judge that the one of them entered the bank wearing an abaya and niqab to distract staff before the robbery.
Describing the incident, the bank’s spokesperson said that three masked men carrying guns raided the premises, grabbed cash from one of the tellers and fled in a vehicle.
The incident had occurred at the Habib Bank branch located in Al Buhairah near the corniche. The police operations room had received a call around 11 am reporting the incident.
The police have not disclosed how much money was stolen by the suspects but sources said investigators were looking at the CCTV footage and speaking to eyewitnesses.
Camera footage showed a vehicle waiting outside the bank — when the suspects finished their robbery, they sped away in the vehicle.
Police investigations led to the arrest of five men involved in the robbery.
