KEY POINTS:
Three Chubb security guards are at the centre of an alleged inside theft, in which up to $200,000 of money was taken from company clients, including a bank.
The three have been sacked and one has already appeared in court, charged with theft of money which was allegedly taken while being transported in armoured vans from bank vaults to Chubb headquarters in Auckland.
The alleged inside heist, apparently discovered after an internal investigation, is yet another embarrassing incident for the security firm, already under fire following the murder of teenager Liam Ashley in one of its prison vans last year.
A 26-year-old guard appeared in Auckland District Court last week charged with stealing cash from ASB Bank nearly a fortnight ago.
The man also faces charges of cannabis possession.
The other two guards have not been charged at this stage.
A woman at the west Auckland house where the other two guards live told the Herald on Sunday that the pair had not been home for two weeks.
Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said Chubb was tipped off about the illegal behaviour of some staff members and hired private investigators, who notified police of their findings.
Chubb New Zealand confirmed an internal investigation found that several individuals were suspected to have engaged in criminal activity and the matter had been referred to police for action.
Three people would be charged as a result of the investigation over the past two weeks.
"Chubb acted promptly and decisively in discovering and investigating the activities and is pleased with the swift response of police," an Australian spokesman, Daniel Marks, said in a written statement to the Herald on Sunday. He would not answer any further questions.
ASB Bank spokeswoman Debby Bell said the bank was unconcerned about the theft, as Chubb was liable for any losses under its contract.
The alleged inside job is the latest in a string of headline-grabbing incidents for the security firm.
Twelve Chubb security guards were sacked and the company was investigated by the Immigration Department after it hired bank and Customs guards without work permits.
Chubb - which has the contract for the Corrections Department - also came under fire after the murder of Ashley in a prison van last year, which was the subject of two investigations.
In 2000, seven offenders made off with $1 million after they held up a Chubb van in an elaborate heist in Wellington. All were jailed.
