Lae police have been commended for their fast response to an attempted robbery case before the new year.
Lae Metropolitan Police Commander Anthony Wagambie tells PNG Loop that on December 29th police received information that there was an armed robbery planned to take place at Theodist Lae.
Police took the tip and launched an operation to monitor the area.
Wagambie says the report verified that a Toyota Hilux single cab had been stolen from the main market and then taken straight to Theodist and parked outside with the would-be robbers inside.
Plain clothes police on the scene spotted the vehicle and watched it and those inside.
Reports stated that the gang was planning to rob Theodist but didn’t execute their plans quickly as there were two uniformed police inside the store so they had to wait for them to leave.
The criminals then tried to pull out of Theodist and were quickly intercepted by armed plain clothes police at the gate.
Police found there were two suspects standing at the gate while the driver and crew were in the vehicle. It was later revealed that they were targeting a staff member of Theodist who was to do banking at the BSP branch next door.
The quick response and effort by plain clothes police foiled what could have been a major robbery.
Meantime, four suspects were apprehended with two knives and a modified pistol with four bullets.
One of the suspects is believed to have been the driver in many other robberies which have taken place in Lae.