RIYADH: A bank robbery suspect had forgotten that the long arm of the law would tap him on the shoulder even 37 years after committing the crime. The man, charged with murder, fell into the police dragnet after crossing over the Yemen border and entering the Kingdom recently.

The armed robbery had taken place in 1978 in what was known as the Kaki bank incident. It was perpetrated by a two-member gang in Naseem district, where the bank treasury was located.

When the bank officer saw the gunmen entering and taking the staff hostage, he locked the box in a bid to foil the robbery. When the manager refused to open the vault, the duo fired several rounds, killing him on the spot.

In their statement, the Riyadh police said one of the robbers was held, while the other had fled from the country. His whereabouts were not known until his arrest recently.

“When the Decisive Storm operation was ordered by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the killer was trying to get into Saudi Arabia through the Saudi-Yemeni border probably thinking that the Saudi authorities might have already forgotten his crime,” said a source.

“The suspect underestimated the vigilance of the security forces who had not given up on the case even 37 years after the bank robbery.”

The police said that the criminal was in Yemen under the protection of a militia group. When the airstrikes on the Houthis militia began, he entered the Kingdom through the border and was arrested.