A 51-year-old resident of Novosibirsk has been arrested by police after raiding a chain supermarket with what appeared to be an automatic rifle to pay off an overdue loan on his BMW, Russian law enforcement officials confirmed.
The armed robbery took place on the morning of Monday, August 24, when a masked assailant walked into a store located on Zhukovskogo Street in Novosibirsk. The perpetrator grabbed a store safe and fled the scene before officers arrived, according to the regional main directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
Police officers launched a search and quickly located the suspect. Upon being taken into custody, the 51-year-old man told investigators he had staged the heist to secure funds needed to pay off debt accumulated from purchasing a BMW vehicle.
Stolen safe contained no cash
Despite risking a heavy prison sentence, the suspect made away with no money. Authorities revealed that when officers recovered the stolen safe, it did not contain any currency, but held internal working documents belonging to the store.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs shared details of the arrest with Russian news outlet Lenta.ru. Officers did not state whether the weapon carried during the robbery was a genuine firearm or a replica.
Background on Novosibirsk and regional policing
Novosibirsk, located in southwestern Siberia along the Ob River, is the third-most populous city in Russia and the regional capital of Novosibirsk Oblast. Retail crime and armed theft in the city are investigated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, known as the MVD, which functions as Russia's national police force.
German luxury vehicles produced by BMW are among the most expensive automobiles sold in Russia, where auto loans often carry high monthly interest charges and strict repayment schedules.
In a separate criminal matter noted by Russian law enforcement, a man was previously detained after breaking into the apartment of a Moscow resident following a performance at the Russian Song Folk Theater, also known as the Babkina Theater, where he committed violent acts against her.
