The Jeddah police have arrested two Saudis working in a company that is tasked with feeding ATMs for allegedly stealing SR1.4 million.

The crime was discovered when the company was conducting an inventory of daily cash stocks and supplies.

Nawaf Al-Bouq, spokesman of the police department, confirmed the arrests. “The police caught the culprits on a tip from the company and confirmed their arrests following an investigation,” he said, adding that Jeddah Police chief, Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Qahtani was following up the case. Al-Bouq said the police were able to retrieve a large amount of the stolen cash from the thieves. “An investigation revealed that the two had shared the money between them with one of them taking SR1.1 million and the other, SR300,000,” he explained.

Al-Bouq said the men, aged 30, were still being questioned. “Their fingerprints will be taken as proof of their crime and a case will be filed for judicial action against them.”

Meanwhile, a thief tried to steal SR15,000 from a car parked outside a shop. The Saudi owner of the car had taken the money from a leading bank on Monday.

“I heard the sound of glass breaking. I came out of the shop to find a thief trying to break into my car. I shouted for help, but the man was gone. Thank God, my money is safe,” the Saudi said.

He then went to the police station to file a complaint about the attempted robbery saying he had seen the thief standing near the bank earlier.

“It shows he was looking for a victim,” the man said. He urged bankers to set up CCTV cameras at all ATM outlets to record any suspicious activity.