A former G4S security guard used his old uniform to trick bank staff into handing him more than £117,000, a court heard.
Footage played in court shows Kwabena Kissi, 40, wearing a helmet, mask, visor and uniform walking along the street before he entered Santander in Brixton, south-west London on July 5, 2022.
CCTV from inside the bank shows him being buzzed through to the secure office where unwitting staff hand him bags of cash containing £117,200 before he left with the money in a briefcase.
He is later seen walking along the road carrying a bin bag containing the cash, after changing his clothes.
Kissi then orders an Uber and is driven away from the scene.
He flew to Accra, Ghana, the next day and he lived there with his ailing mother for nearly four years.
Staff only realised they had been tricked when the genuine G4S guard arrived to make the regular Tuesday collection.
Kissi was finally arrested in March this year after flying back to the UK, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
He initially claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, but he had made the mistake of using his own name and phone number to book the Uber.
Imogen Nelson, prosecuting, said Kissi had worked for G4S as a guard between 2019 and 2020. He resigned but failed to hand back his G4S uniform.
Otis Williams, the Santander branch’s vault manager, said in his police statement that he had bagged up £256,000 for collection in 11 bags.
At around 10.30am, Kissi turned up at the branch.
When one of the unsuspecting staff commented he was “there a little early”, Kissi told him he was on a new route.
“No suspicion arose at that stage. He did what any custodian from G4S would have done, he collected bags, put them in a briefcase, and took them out,” the prosecutor said.
When Kissi did not return for a second pick-up “alarm bells started ringing”.
“The penny really dropped when they saw the genuine G4S custodian who was on delivery for that day parked up nearby,” Ms Nelson said.”
Kissi was able to make off with £117,200 of that approximately £256,000.
Bank employee feared for his job
Marlon Louis, a Santander employee, said in his statement he had worked for Santander for 25 years and was “devastated and worried he might lose his job”.
Mr Louis added: “This person has put my whole life in jeopardy.”
Kissi, of no fixed address, earlier admitted fraud by false representation, by showing cashiers false ID to collect £117,200 in cash.
Kissi denied a second charge of possessing criminal property and the charge was dropped.
Piers Walter, defending, said Kissi fled to Ghana to care for his very ill mother.
Judge Rosa Dean told Kissi he had exploited his “inside knowledge” and jailed him for 40 months.
Det Con Stuart Ponder, who led the Met’s investigation, said: “We identified Kissi as our suspect thanks to extensive CCTV enquiries and phone evidence that linked him to the minicab he used as his getaway vehicle.
“When we found that he had left the UK the day after the fraud, we feared he might never come back to face justice.
“We kept our eyes on him and officers were at the airport to arrest Kissi off the plane when he returned earlier this year. When they searched him, he still had the same phone he’d been using when he committed his heist in 2022.
“This case demonstrates the Met’s commitment to tackling high-value thefts and securing justice – no matter how long it takes.”
Source – Telegraph