SYDNEY, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have arrested and charged a man in relation to two bank robberies in the 1990s.
The robberies occurred in small towns in northern NSW in October 1996 and January 1997. In both cases, a man entered a bank armed with a shotgun and demanded cash from staff before taking a woman hostage until reaching a vehicle and fleeing the scene.
Police at the time issued a warrant for a male suspect, then aged 47, for both incidents, but he was not apprehended.
The NSW Police Force said in a statement that a 76-year-old man was arrested on those warrants in the neighboring state of Queensland on Monday.
He was extradited to NSW on Tuesday and charged by detectives with two counts of robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon and two counts of detaining a victim for advantage.
The 76-year-old man was denied bail and was due to make an initial court appearance on Wednesday. ■
