Burglars cut through bank wall to steal from 250 deposit boxes in Iran

Bank Melli Iran branch manager ignored an automatic alert because of false alarms in the past, report says

The entrance to the Bank Melli Iran in Tehran.

Burglars in Iran’s capital, Tehran, cut through the wall of a bank from the building next door and stole from dozens of safe deposit boxes, state TV has reported.

The thieves took advantage of a three-day holiday to break into a major branch of government-owned Bank Melli Iran and steal from 250 boxes, Monday's report said.

It was not confirmed what items were stolen or how much the haul was worth.

The bank said the incident caused “limited damages”.

An alarm went off, triggering an automatic alert that was sent to the branch’s manager ― but he ignored the notice because he had received false alarms in the past, the Mehr news agency reported.

Mehr said the alarm system was not set up to alert police.

The robbers also stole surveillance cameras and other monitoring equipment from the bank, which is on a major street near the University of Tehran and within walking distance of a police station.

Many banks in Tehran keep their safe deposit boxes underground.

Police said several suspects, including some bank employees, are under investigation.

It is rare for government banks in Iran to be robbed.