The police say they have arrested a senior official of Access Bank for his alleged involvement in a foiled armed robbery operation at a branch of the bank in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Also arrested for alleged complicity in the crime is a dismissed police sergeant who was attached to the bank as security personnel.

The police, in a statement issued, Thursday, by the Force spokesperson, Don Awunah, gave the names of the banker and the dismissed policeman as Samuel Ndudiri and Promise Ukwuoma respectively.

Other suspects arrested by the police are Samuel Nwala, 28; Lucky Ukwuoma, 26; and Kaale Taagabah, 27.

The police said Messrs. Nwala, Ukwuoma, and Taagabah, armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed the branch of the bank on December 22, based on the insider information they got from the bank official, Mr. Ndudiri, 28, who the police said was the mastermind of the operation.

“The armed robbers successfully broke down the well-fortified security doors and barriers and took over the banking hall,” the police said in the statement.

“They were almost pulling down the vault and other strong rooms in the bank with use of gas cylinder, welding machine and iron cutters before the joint Police Teams of IGP’S Intelligence Response Team and policemen from Rivers State Police Command swiftly moved in and dislodged them.”

The confessional statements of the three arrested robbers led to the arrest of the bank official, Mr. Ndudiri, the police said.

From the arrested bank official, the police said they were able to trace and arrest the bank security personnel, Mr. Ukwuoma, who was said to have been actively involved in the foiled bank robbery.

Apart from two AK-47 rifles and magazines fully load with ammunition, the police said they also recovered two gas cylinders and iron cutters, a big chisel, cutting saw, hammer, and acetylene gas power from the suspects.

The police said they were intensifying their effort to arrest other suspects at large, and that the case would be charged to court at the conclusion of investigations.