PETALING JAYA, Nov 12 — Police have launched a nationwide manhunt for the mastermind of the AmBank robbery, in which a bank operations officer was brutally shot and killed by a rogue security guard.

The mysterious man, who goes by the name of Joemar, is believed to be in possession of the remaining RM420,000 stolen from the bank’s safe at their branch in Jalan USJ Sentral 2 on October 23.

Soon after the incident, police recovered RM20,000 from the suspect’s wife’s house in Klang. The wife and two other men were picked up on the same day.

Joemar surfaced following the arrest of the 36-year-old guard, who was detained by a Bukit Aman Special Forces team in Kampung Belungkor, Kota Tinggi, Johor, after being on the run for 18 days.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said: “Joemar planned the robbery while the suspect carried it out.”

Khalid said the guard confessed during interrogations that Joemar was involved. He also said he handed over the cash to the Joemar before going on the run.

“Initial investigations revealed that Joemar is an Indonesian and is still at large. He is not a security guard and did not provide the fake identification card which the suspect used.”

Yesterday morning, the guard — who is being held at the USJ 8 centralised police lock-up — led a team of police officers to Jalan Subang 2 Industrial park, where the pump-gun used during the robbery was recovered from a monsoon drain.

Following the robbery, the suspect dumped the weapon there — just 500 metres away from the crime scene — and fled on a motorcycle.

Three live shotgun shells and a spent casing were recovered with the weapon. All were sent to the forensics department for a ballistics test.

Khalid said police are now verifying the name of the guard with Indonesian authorities. Police are still looking for the man who provided the guard the fake identification card.

“It is a fake IC with no biometric system. We take this seriously and are investigating if it’s the work of a syndicate or an individual.”

So far, police have detained 12 people in connection with the case — including the guard’s wife, friends and relatives.

The suspect used abandoned buildings and unoccupied houses in the Klang valley and Johor to avoid detection while on the run.