Weeks after dare-devil thieves robbed five banks in Offa, Kwara State, North central Nigeria, killing 17 persons in the process, their counterparts in Switzerland have demonstrated a bloodless way to raid money vaults. They did not fire a gun but made a success of their enterprise.

A money delivery van was immobilised by a Kalashnikov-wielding gang using two delivery vehicles near the Swiss town of Mont-sur-Lausanne close to Lake Geneva. They made away with some of the money and are at large.

SwissInfo reports that the cash delivery van operated by a private company was attacked on Thursday morning a little after midnight.  It was hit by two delivery vehicles stolen by the thieves and the two occupants were threatened with a Kalashnikov. After taking the money, the robbers then set fire to the van, the two stolen delivery vehicles and another car in the vicinity. They then fled in several cars despite measures by the police to intercept them.

“They were determined and prepared”, said Florence Maillard, spokesperson for the police of canton Vaud. She added that the French police were alerted immediately, as is the norm in such incidents.

The two employees in the money van were not injured but very shocked. Witnesses who were threatened also received psychological support, according to police.

This is not the first time money delivery vehicles have been targeted in the region. In May 2017, a van carrying more than CHF40 million ($41.6 million) in cash and gemstones was robbed on the highway near the town of Nyon. The thieves, who were from the French city of Lyon, fled to France where they were later arrested. In December 2015, two money couriers were attacked in the town of Bussigny close to Thursday’s robbery. The loot amounted to more than CHF2 million.