It wasn’t just another manic Monday for a Jamaica Estates man picked up on April 17 in connection with a series of bank robberies that occurred on Monday mornings in Manhattan this year.
Law enforcement sources said Abdullahi Shuaibu, 53, a United Nations staffer and journalist for an African news agency who resides on Hillside Avenue allegedly attempted to rob four banks in Midtown over the course of two months. Each of the banks was reportedly close to the UN’s headquarters.
According to police, at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 27, the suspect entered a Santander Bank located at 330 Madison Ave. The man passed a note to the teller, demanding money and stating that he had a gun. No firearm was displayed, however the teller complied and the man fled north on Madison Avenue with an undetermined amount of cash. The suspect was last seen wearing a black jacket, a black hat and black gloves.
Two weeks later on Monday, March 13, at 2:35 p.m., a man matching the description of the robber in the first incident entered a Bank of America located at 750 3rd Ave. The suspect approached the teller and passed them a note, demanding money. However, the teller ignored the suspect and walked away from the window. The suspect then fled the scene, heading south on Third Avenue empty-handed.
The third incident took place on Monday, March 27, at 2 p.m. The suspect entered a Santander Bank located at 1062 Third Ave. and passed a teller a note demanding money. The teller complied and the suspect fled the location in an unknown direction with an undetermined amount of cash.
Finally, at 2:35 p.m. on April 17, the suspect entered an HSBC Bank located at 617 Third Ave. and passed a note to the teller, demanding money. The teller did not read the note and asked the suspect to produce identification.
Police said the suspect told the teller to read the note while keeping his hand in his pocket, simulating a weapon, however the suspect grabbed the note and fled the bank in an unknown direction.
Following the incident at the HSBC Bank, police were called to the scene. They apprehended Shuaibu, who fit the robber’s description, near 809 First Ave. Law enforcement sources said Shuaibu was positively identified as the robber by the HSBC teller, leading to his arrest.
Shuaibu was charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery. The investigation is ongoing.
