CHITA, May 15 (RIA Novosti) - Police in East Siberia have detained five suspects in a recent attack on a branch of Russia's largest state-controlled savings bank, Sberbank, in Chita, local prosecutors said Tuesday.
The deputy prosecutor of the Chita Region, Vladimir Kandakov, said the suspects had gained access to the bank Friday night. "The criminal group consisted of six people, including a security guard," Kandakov said.
Early Saturday they killed two security guards, including the one who had presumably allowed them into the building, and stole more than 38 million rubles (about $1.5 million), nine ounces of gold and 62 ounces of silver bullion in one of the biggest heists in Russia in the past 10 years.
Earlier reports said two suspects had been detained and 18 million rubles ($700,000) retrieved.
A criminal case has been launched, with the defendants facing eight to 20 years in prison if convicted.
