Guard, former police officer suspected in deadly robbery

Police suspect that a security guard accompanying a money transport van that was robbed near Tokaj on Monday provided assistance to the thieves, reports origo.hu. Though the man was unhurt, another guard protecting the van was later found dead in the vehicle, having been beaten to death, according to orientpress.hu. Meanwhile, a reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of two other suspects, one of whom is a former police officer.

Based on the evidence collected, the guard was one of four perpetrators who committed the robbery, said Borsod County Police Chief Antal Kökényesi. Police believe the four men knew each other previously and planned the crime together. The guard who survived the attack was the driver of the van.

The guard told police that he was knocked down by the robbers, tied up with tape, pushed into a car, and that his colleague was threatened with his own gun. But the man's injuries were not consistent with his statement, and data collected by police indicate that after the robbery, the three perpetrators drove around the area while a fourth accomplice in Miskolc kept track of the reaction to the crime. They later met and destroyed evidence, tied up the guard under suspicion, and brought him back to the scene of the crime, where he was found by police.

While police are holding the guard under suspicion, as well as the person who allegedly assisted them from Miskolc, the other two suspects remain at large. A reward of Ft 500,000 (€2,000) has been posted for information leading to the capture of Roland Hajdú, a former police officer, and an individual identified only as Krisztián Somogyi.

Police have not released information on the amount of money taken in the robbery, but press reports estimate it to be around Ft 20 million (over €80,000).

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