Police have detained two men and a woman, believed to be the wife of the security guard involved in the Ambank robbery case in which a female bank officer was killed last Wednesday, and retrieved more than RM20,000 of the RM450,000 cash robbed from the bank.

Selangor police chief Mohd Shukri Dahlan said the woman, in her 30s, and the two men, in their 20s, who are also the suspect’s family members, were picked up at a house in Klang on the same day of the incident.

He said the two men, who did not have any valid travel documents, were also working as security guards, but at different companies.

“Following the arrest, police have retrieved more than RM20,000 of the cash robbed from the bank at one of the men's working place,” he told reporters in Shah Alam today.

He said police also believed that the suspect was still in the country and that a special team had been set up to investigate the case.

In the 6.18pm incident last Wednesday, bank officer Norazita Abu Talib, 37, was shot on the head with a pump gun by the suspect when she opened the bank’s vault with another female officer.

The security guard, who uses the name of Ardi Hamza, escaped with cash of RM450,000.

Mohd Shukri said initial investigation found that the suspect was not a Malaysian citizen from Sabah, but instead a citizen of a neighbouring country.

The suspect and his family members are believed to have lived in Malaysia over the past two years, he said.

He said the police would also investigate how the suspect managed to obtain the fake identity card and the permit to use firearm and work at the security company.

“We are in the midst of tracking down the suspect with the help from the international police,” he said.

Earlier, police said the security guard had escaped with RM450,000 in cash, said police.

Subang Jaya deputy police chief Supt Tan Ah Chua said police were notified of the amount by the bank during investigation.

Tan said based on the suspect’s identity card, the suspect's name was Ardi Hamza, 37, but police would continue investigations.

“We are waiting for confirmation from the National Registration Department,” he said when contacted by Bernama, today.

- Bernama