Police are hunting a a group of thieves who have been dubbed the Termite Gang after tunnelling into a bank.
The break-in was discovered this morning a branch of China Bank in Quezon City.
Investigating officer superintendent Tomas Nuñez, told CNN today (Monday, October 2) that the entry point of the two-feet wide tunnel had been found about one hundred meters from the bank’s Commonwealth branch.
He said that after digging downwards, the raiders had used the sewerage system to reach the bank.
Supt. Nuñez said a number of tools had been left behind, including crowbars and metal-cutting saws. These are now being examined for fingerprints and other evidence.
“We call them the Termite Gang because they are digging, like what miners do,” he said.
It is not known if the same Termite Gang was behind a similar raid on a pawnshop in Marikina City in March.
It is believed that more than three robbers made it into the bank’s vault, but were unable to break through its main security door.
Supt. Nuñez said his initial investigations suggested that the conditions gang knew their way around the bank.
“They knew where the alarm was placed because they shut it down. They also took the recorder of the CCTV,” he said.
Termite Gang or ‘inside job’?
The CCTV footage is now being examined.
It is believed the Termite Gang targeted the bank over the weekend because it was closed and unstaffed outside office hours. The only employee at the site was a security guard at the front entrance. He had no access to the bank and told officers that he did not notice any suspicious activity.
However, police are not ruling out an “inside job” — or that a bank worker was involved.
China Bank released a statement today saying it was investigating how much money had been stolen. It has also launched a review of the security protocols at all its branches.
The bank has apologised to clients of the branch, which remains closed, and has advised them to use other branches until further notice.