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'Cyborg Bandit' Arrested Over 30 Bank Robberies

'Cyborg Bandit' Arrested Over 30 Bank Robberies

A suspected bank robber nicknamed the 'cyborg bandit' and 'elephant man bandit' has been arrested in Seattle.

The 44-year-old is alleged to be responsible for some 30 bank robberies throughout King and Snohomish Counties in Washington state, dating back to February last year.

Each of the robberies involved a masked man who wore latex gloves, a hooded top and a metallic cloth with tiny eye holes over his face.

Investigators referred to him as the cyborg bandit because the material resembled that worn by cyborgs and cylons in sci-fi films.

His other nickname comes from his similarity to the lead character in the movie Elephant Man.

The Seattle Safe Streets Task Force (SSSTF), which includes members of the FBI, the local police department and the county sheriff's office, watched the suspect as he allegedly spent two hours watching staff and customers come and go from a bank in the city's University District.

He is said to have been seen pulling on a mask and entering the bank, and was arrested shortly after leaving when staff reported a robbery.

A spokesman for the SSSFT said "sufficient evidence" was found during a search of the suspect's home in Everett, Washington.

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