Suspected bank robbers captured and held

The Royal Oman Police (ROP) on Sunday announced the successful capture of a suspected gang of thieves who had targeted the branch of a leading national bank in the sultanate. The eight-member alleged gang - all expatriate Pakistanis - was charged with breaking into the bank's branch in the Ghala industrial area of Muscat on the night of August 26. Working through the Eid holiday, a special team from the Directorate General of Criminal Investigations pursued the suspects, who were picked up from different locations in Muscat and the Batinah region. One member, who managed to flee to a "neighbouring country", was also apprehended in coordination with local authorities, the ROP said in a statement. Police said they recovered much of the looted money, as well as the implements used in the break-in.