Hawks arrest Chubb guards in FNB safety deposit boxes robbery

JOHANNESBURG – The Hawks have arrested two Chubb security guards in connection with a robbery at a First National Bank (FNB) branch in Ferndale, where 360 safety deposit boxes were stolen.

It’s alleged the guards stole the boxes after drilling the wall to gain access to the vault in December.

The boxes contained valuables such as firearms, jewellery, money and documents.

The Hawks’ Ndivhuwo Mulamu says, “We followed up on information and recovered only 250 of those safety deposit boxes. They were damaged, forcibly opened and emptied at an open field near FNB Stadium, just three days after the robbery.”

PARKTOWN ROBBERY

Last month, FNB CEO Jacques Celliers said early findings of an internal investigation into a heist at their Parktown branch led to the suspension of three employees believed to be linked to the crime.

The bank said it will assist and facilitate customers in with their insurance claims, but was unclear what will happen to those who had not covered their valuables.

Celliers said a final report still needs to be completed.

“It would appear that there could’ve been some collusion between our staff and in that case we’ll be reaching out to them to try and have discussions around the next steps.”

RANDBURG ROBBERY

Celliers said a separate investigation is taking place for the Randburg branch and the bank will only be in a position to assess claims once that probe is done.

“There are conversations around how we can help and come to a settlement. Depending on the final internal investigation, unless some other information comes up, we’re very interested to see if we can get finality and closure as soon as possible.”