Bandits use bulldozer in bank robbery

HANIA, Greece, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Robbers used a bulldozer to steal a safe from a bank on the Greek island of Crete Tuesday.

The break-in occurred at about 4:30 a.m. at an ATE bank branch in Kalives, a village outside Hania, a port city on the island's north shore, Ekatherimini.com reported. The bandits got away with a half-ton safe containing about 200,000 euros and broke into an ATM to steal 130,000 euros, for a total haul of USD$423,000.

Police said that the gang blocked roads into the village with cars and construction equipment to give them more time to escape. They shot out the tires of a police car, and local residents said they heard the shots but believed they were being fired at a wedding, a local custom.

At least four men participated in the break-in, but investigators say that more people were almost certainly involved.