Brothers In Alleged Hotel Heist Appear In Court
The Age
Tuesday January 22, 2008
AT FIRST, the plan looked as though it had worked. Three hours after a violent armed robber fled Preston's Olympic Hotel with more than $100,000 cash, police were calling for witnesses.
They said security cameras had captured a balaclava-clad man assaulting a lone security guard with a pistol as he threatened patrons and demanded cash in the early hours of January 12. But as revealed in The Age on Saturday, police soon found out the alleged robber, Riad Barbour, and the security guard, Fahed Barbour, were in fact brothers. The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard yesterday that Fahed, 19, was working at the hotel under Riad's name and security guard licence. Detective Senior Constable Anthoula Moutis told the court the pair allegedly hid their takings along with Fahed's passport in a safe at their sister's St Albans home.Senior Constable Moutis said security footage showed Fahed had taken a phone call outside the hotel in the 10 minutes leading up to the heist. He also ensured a glass door, that only he can open after 1am, could be entered by his brother when the robbery occurred about 3am, she said. "They've orchestrated it together," she said. The pair will appear in court again on May 14.
© 2008 The Age
