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| Armed police thwart bank robbery | Armed police thwart bank robbery |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Armed police abseiled down a building to foil an armed robbery just as the thieves were breaking into a bank. | Armed police abseiled down a building to foil an armed robbery just as the thieves were breaking into a bank. |
| The officers then set off stun grenades to distract the gang who were arrested as they tried to get into the HSBC in Bermondsey, south-east London. | |
| The men were found to be in possession of a taser, knives and plastic hand restraints. | The men were found to be in possession of a taser, knives and plastic hand restraints. |
| Three men, aged 26, 31 and 32, have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to rob. | |
| Proactive intelligence | Proactive intelligence |
| Police said no shots were fired during Thursday morning's operation and there were no employees in the bank at the time of the incident. | Police said no shots were fired during Thursday morning's operation and there were no employees in the bank at the time of the incident. |
| Det Supt Jim Dickie said: "Today's arrests are the conclusion of a proactive intelligence-led operation, which involved a great deal of planning to ensure that the risk to staff at the bank, officers and the suspects themselves was at an absolute minimum. | |
| "The role played by our colleagues in CO19 [the Met's Specialist Firearms team] was absolutely vital in achieving this final aspect. | "The role played by our colleagues in CO19 [the Met's Specialist Firearms team] was absolutely vital in achieving this final aspect. |
| "Without specialist officers such as these to compliment operations our ability to fight crime would be severely hindered." | "Without specialist officers such as these to compliment operations our ability to fight crime would be severely hindered." |