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Men arrested over spectacular Gothenburg robbery

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Men arrested over spectacular Gothenburg robbery

Three men have been arrested after a spectacular robbery of Gothenburg's main postal depot, which left much of Sweden's second city sealed off on Tuesday morning.

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The three men, born 1967, 1976 and 1983 are suspected of being accessories to robbery, according to Sven Ahlbin of Gothenburg Police. He would not reveal where the men were arrested or give any other details of the arrests.

During the raid the robbers forced the eleven staff at the post office staff to lie on the floor. They then made away with their loot. Five devices that appeared to be bombs were placed in the area in an apparent attempt to hinder the police operation.

"There is no indication that there were actually any explosives in the boxes," said Ahlbin on Tuesday evening.

The robbers also set fire to five cars in the area. They fled in a Jeep, which was later found burned out not far from the scene of the robbery. They had spread caltrops - metal 'crows' feet' designed to puncture car tyres - on roads around the terminal. Nobody was physically injured in the robbery.

Klas Friberg of Gothenburg Police said that at least ten people are likely to have been involved in the robbery.

"This robbery was on a bigger scale than any I have seen before."

Per Ljungberg Per Ljungberg, a spokesman for the Swedish postal service, said the Gothenburg post terminal was the largest in the region and handled about two million letters a day.

"We're a bit surprised by the robbery. There are obviously some valuable packages that pass through, but it's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack," he told AFP. He added that many of the depot's staff were "in shock. The terminal handles about 2 million letters and packages per day.

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