Five held after bank robbery committed 16 years ago solved

One of the suspects held in custody. [Photo/Zhengzhou Evening News Sina Weibo]

Sixteen years after an armed bank robbery in which 2.08 million yuan ($327,600) was stolen and two people were injured in Zhengshou, Henan province, police have arrested five suspects after matching physical evidence from the scene to area residents.

The five were arrested in the province's Zhumadian area last week, the Dahe Daily newspaper reported.

Following the Dec 15, 1999 robbery, in which a security guard and a bank employee were injured, police established a special team to solve the case with the help of the Ministry of Public Security.

The case was at a dead end for many years, despite the collection of biological evidence at the crime scene. "What we did later was to use the samples to make comparisons with suspicious people," said a criminal investigator at the department under the provincial public security bureau.

In April, the specimens were finally linked to three people in the Zhumadian area, police said.

One of the suspects surnamed Shi told police that he and the other suspects first fled to his hometown of Zhumadian and then went to Yunnan province to avoid arrest, dividing the stolen money later.

Shi said he became a businessman in 2000 and was engaged in real estate development, but "didn't have a good sleep" until he was arrested on Wednesday, police said.