The Mumbai Police has arrested a cash custodian manager from Pune for siphoning off Rs 34 crore from a banks cash chest. Sources from the police department said that the mastermind, Altaf Shaikh, worked as a cash custodian manager at the ICICI Bank in Mumbais Dombivali.
Web series Money Heist
The case was cracked after nearly three months, and around Rs 9 crore was seized, according to the police officials. Shaikh was inspired to steal from the banks chest after watching the web series Money Heist. Being a cash custodian manager, Shaikh was well aware of the security systems installed in the bank.
How heist was done?
Shaikh executed the heist through an air conditioning duct in the wall. He took the help of his three associates, including his sister, Niloufer, to move the cash from the bank to a rented place at Taloja in Navi Mumbai.
In the investigation, police officials found that Shaikh saw the air conditioning duct open during repairs a few months back and observed that the duct could be used for theft.
The heist was executed on July 9 on a bank holiday. Shaikh disabled the alarm systems and removed all the hard disks of the CCTVs. Once the system was disabled, he executed the heist through the air conditioning duct. Later, Shaikh informed the bank that the hard disks of the CCTV recordings were stolen and filed a police complaint regarding the missing cash.
Shaikh handed over Rs 12 crore to his accomplices and took the remaining cash to the rented room in Taloja with his sister.