Fingerprints lead to arrest of robbers

Manama : Fingerprints left on a juice bottle and CCTV footage helped nab two men who allegedly stole from Manama cold stores.

The knife wielding men robbed several stores at Abu Ghazal area in Manama. However they were caught, thanks to the prompt action of the police.

“We were told that the two men, possibly in their twenties, came to a cold store, behind the US Embassy, and demanded cash from the owner,” an Interior Ministry official was quoted in the ministry’s Al Amn publication.   

“After collecting the money, they made their way to another cold store in the area and repeated the same scene, again walking away with the day’s collections.” 

A third cold store was also robbed, using the same modus-operandi. A police team dispatched to the crime scene found that two of the cold stores had no CCTV cameras installed, according to the official. 

“All we were told was that two men came in a car, brandished a knife and left with the cash.” 

However the suspects were identified from the third cold store’s CCTV footage. The officers were able to retrieve the registration number of their car from a camera facing the road.

One of the suspects had left on the counter, a bottle of juice; he had taken from the store itself.

Following which, one of the suspects was nabbed shortly and questioning him led to the arrest of his accomplice.

The car and knife were also recovered along with the cash.

Upon further investigation, it was learnt that the duo were involved in similar crimes earlier. The men specifically targeted businesses that did not have a CCTV camera. 

Install CCTV cameras

A Ministry official has urged business shops to install surveillance cameras. 

“This is very useful in identifying prowlers and thieves. Investment in such systems is negligible but the benefits are several times greater.”