Arrest made over Amman currency exchange robbery

AMMAN — Police on Sunday arrested a man in connection with an alleged robbery in a currency exchange shop in Amman last week.

The suspect reportedly entered the currency exchange shop on Wednesday night holding a gun and demanded cash, police spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

The suspect escaped with JD2,000 in cash, the police official told The Jordan Times.

“The Public Security Department (PSD) formed a specialised investigation team to investigate the incident,” the police official stated.

The investigation team gathered evidence and “managed to identify the suspect,” the police official said.

“A special task force raided the suspect’s home and arrested him without any major incident,” Sartawi added.

In his initial testimony to the investigators, “the suspect claimed that he planned to rob the exchange shop with a plastic gun”, Sartawi maintained.

The suspect was referred to the State Security Court prosecution office for further investigation and indictment, according to a PSD statement.

Armed robbery carries a maximum prison term of 15 years, the PSD statement said.

A video that went viral online shows a man wearing a hoodie covering half his face as he enters an exchange shop. Following a brief conversation with three employees, the man is seen waving a gun at them.

Two of the employees are seen on tape opening their drawers and handing the suspect stacks of bills.

The Wednesday robbery is the third to target a currency exchange shop in the Kingdom in the past three months.

In March, a man also dressed in black and covering most of his face with a scarf robbed a currency exchange shop in an Amman neighbourhood while waving a sharp object.

The suspect, who was arrested shortly after the robbery, escaped with JD7,000.

On February 9, a man reportedly entered a money exchange shop in Irbid, jumped over the counter and cleared the drawers, escaping with JD11,000 in cash.

Meanwhile, several armed robberies have targeted financial establishments and other entities in recent months.

In January, two suspects reportedly robbed a petrol station at gunpoint in northern Shouneh and escaped with JD1,700.

The two suspects attacked the station employee with a blunt object while pumping gas.

Police announced then that one of the suspects was arrested and that police were able to recover a portion of the stolen cash.

In June 2020, a currency exchange near Airport Road was robbed as several suspects entered the premises waving guns at the employees and demanding cash.

The suspects escaped with JD3,000 in cash, and no one was injured in the incident.