Gunman disguised in burka and sunglasses robs cash courier



Cover-up: The gunman wore a burka to disguise himself while robbing a courier (file picture)

A gunman dressed in a head-to-toe black burqa and sunglasses robbed a cash courier in a shopping centre car park.

The courier had just withdrawn a large amount of money from a bank yesterday when he spotted two men following him, Australian police said.

He returned to his vehicle which was parked in the car park when one of the men approached him and told him his tyre was going flat.



The man became suspicious and drove from the scene, changing his tyre in a nearby street before driving to a shopping centre.



Whilst he was parking his vehicle in the car park, he was approached by a man wearing a full burka and dark glasses.



The man pointed a pistol at him and demanded he hand over the money.

The victim handed over a bag containing a large amount of cash, and the man then ran off.



The 35-year-old victim works as a cash courier for jewellery businesses and was working on a job in Sydney at around 3pm when he was robbed, New South Wales state police said.

The burka is the most concealing of all Islamic veils. It covers the entire face and body, leaving just a mesh screen to see through.

In Australia, some Muslims wear head scarves, but burkas are almost never worn.

The burka has become something of a controversial garment over recent years, with some suggesting it poses a security risk, as the wearer cannot be identified.

Last month, Belgium became the first European country to impose a full ban on wearing a burka.

Its parliament approved a draft law which states women can be jailed for hiding their faces in public.



The bill - which must be rubber-stamped by the Belgian senate - is set to become law by July.



France is poised to follow Belgium, with President Nicolas Sarkozy leading the charge to ban the burka. He has described the garment as 'contrary to the dignity of women'.



Since 1975, a national anti-terrorism law in Italy has forbidden the wearing of any mask or clothing that makes it impossible to identify the person underneath.



However, the law permits exceptions for 'justified cause', which has often been interpreted by courts as including religious reasons.

A woman in Italy became the first person in the country to be fined £430 for wearing a burka in a public place - the post office - earlier this week.





