An army sergeant has been arrested in connection with the robbery incident at a Money Exchange Bureau near the Metehan
border crossing, eleven days after the robbery incident on September, 17.
Following days of intensive investigations, a team from the Lefkosa Justice Department and Crime Prevention
Department (Lefkoşa Adli Şube ve Cürümleri Önleme Şubesi) arrested the suspect, Onur
Keskin, at home in his army quarters home in Zümrütköy on Friday September, 28 and brought before a court in Lefkosa on charges of robbery at the Money Exchange Bureau, on September, 17, 2018.
Keskin who is a qualified Sergeant at the Cyprus Turkish Peace Force
Command, appeared at the Lefkosa district court on Saturday and was ordered to remain in detention for three days while further investigations were being made.
Bail was
refused by the Judge due to the risk of Keskin influencing or interfering
with police investigation.
It is alleged that Keskin, wearing sunglasses and a hat, waited
outside for a while before entering Gesfi Exchange Bureau (Gesfi Döviz
Bürosu). He approached the cashier Funda Göler with a hand gun
threatening to kill her if she did not give him any money. She handed
over 14,250 TL.
He also forcefully snatched 50 Euros from a Greek Cypriot customer
who had come into the bureau.
He ran off behind the building jumping
over a fence heading towards the Kermiya Social Housing estate.
At Keskin’s home, police have recovered a hand gun, newly purchased
clothes, a small amount of the stolen money, along with the clothes and
mask he wore on the day of the robbery.
Keskin gave a voluntary
statement admitting to the crime and told police that he spent the rest
of money in various places of entertainment.