Prague court sends to prison two men for multi-million robbery

Prague, June 20 (CTK) - The Prague City Court Wednesday sentenced Tomas Puta and fugitive Frantisek Hajn to 12 and 10 years to prison, respectively, for stealing 154 million crowns from a security agency vehicle in 2002, a case dubbed "the robbery of the century" in the Czech Republic.

The third suspect, Maros Sulej, was acquitted of the charges.

Puta received a cumulative sentence because he, along with Sulej, was already convicted within the extensive case of the ill-famous Berdych gang.

The court also ruled that Puta and Hajn must pay the damage. The verdict has not yet taken effect and it may be appealed.

According to the state attorney, Puta and Sulej organised the robbery. The two men plead innocent. Hajn, who was their accomplice, has been in hiding, probably in the Dominican Republic.

Puta and Sulej were arrested in Ireland in the past and extradited to the Czech Republic.

On September 16, 2002, the robbers attacked a van of the Group 4 Securitas security agency transporting money from Citibank and other firms. The attack took place on a busy Prague street in the morning. They were armed, had an explosive and two of them were dressed in the uniform of the police special team. No one was injured in the attack.

The state attorney believes a former employer of the Group 4 Securitas operation centre, Antonin Saleta, was involved in the robbery. Saleta was arrested in Venezuela in February and he will be charged in a separate court proceeding.

The police said further people took part in the robbery, but at least two of them are not alive anymore.