Gold Coast bank robber flees to NZ - police

Queensland police believe a man involved in the robbery of three Gold Coast banks in January has fled to New Zealand.

A 20-year-old from Nerang near Surfers Paradise was arrested yesterday and was to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court today to face two counts of robbery and one of attempted robbery, but police believe his alleged accomplice has fled across the Tasman.

Police have been hunting the men since they fled a property in the Gold Coast hinterland when it was raided by officers shortly after the banks were hit on January 17-18.

Earlier this month Gold Coast detectives asked New Zealand police to help trace the other fugitive, who is described as being a Maori or Pacific Islander in his mid-20s, after receiving a tip-off.

New Zealand police have been provided with grainy CCTV images of the duo during a spree which started at the Westpac in Burleigh Heads and then continued the following day when the bank's branch at Oxenford and a Suncorp in Springwood were targeted.

Each bank was robbed using the same modus operandi - one of the men approached a teller demanding money and saying he had a gun. The amount of money they obtained has not been revealed.

- © Fairfax NZ News