VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia, March 2 (UPI) -- Bandits smashed a window to break into a bank in southern Russia and stole $6.8 million in cash, police said.
The robbers tied up two employees Monday at the Bank of Moscow branch in Vladikavkaz, capital of the Caucasian republic of North Ossetia, police told The Moscow Times. They hauled away 180 million rubles ($6.2 million), $200,000 and 324,000 euros ($448,000), weighing a total of 150 pounds.
There were conflicting reports on who may have been behind the robbery.
An unidentified investigator told the online news site Lifenews.ru the main suspects are Vladikavkaz police officers who had been terminated as bank guards. The robbers seemed to be familiar with the alarms and surveillance cameras.
Another law enforcement source told City-FM radio the heist might have been staged to conceal embezzlement at the bank. He said the robbers just walked in, and there was not that much cash on hand. The amount reported stolen included funds embezzled earlier, the source said.
A local police spokesman told the Interfax news agency two bank employees were held for questioning.
