Hyderabad, Dec 28 (IANS): Posing as CBI officials, four unidentified persons looted 45 kg gold from Muthoot Finance in Hyderabad on Wednesday, the city police said.

The con men escaped with gold ornaments valued at about Rs 12 crore after threatening the staff with weapons at the Ramachandrapuram office of the company on the outskirts here.

According to the police, four persons came to Muthoot Finance branch in the morning and told the staff that they were CBI officials and wanted to check records and gold in the lockers. 

When the employees said they were not in a position to show the lockers without permission from top officials, the unidentified men threatened action against the staff for disobeying orders of CBI officials.

When the lockers were opened, the intruders started collecting the golden ornaments in their bags. As the employees raised objection, one of the men whipped out a gun, threatened the employees and locked them in a bathroom.

The robbers also took away the hard disk of CCTV cameras with them.

The police have launched a massive hunt for the robbers, who escaped in a car. 

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Sandeep Shandilya said five teams have been formed to track down the culprits.

The policemen were searching vehicles along Hyderabad-Mumbai highway from Ramachandrapuram to Zaheerabad town in Sangareddy district.