In the past year, more ATMs have been blown up in Germany than ever before.

According to information from the FAZ, the police counted a total of 496 attempted and completed demolitions.

That is an increase of 27 percent compared to 2021 with 392 cases.

The previous peak was in 2020 with 414 cases.

According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, up to five ATMs exploded in one night last year.

And according to information from the FAZ, there are no signs of a decline in the numbers this year either.

David Klaubert

Editor in the department "Germany and the World".

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The police in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have at least managed to break up a gang that is said to have blown up around 20 ATMs in southern Germany since 2021.

At the beginning of the week there were raids in the Dutch cities of Utrecht and Roermond.

Several suspects were arrested and explosives, cash and high-powered cars were confiscated.

Because of the risk of explosion, buildings in an industrial area had to be temporarily evacuated during the police operation.

The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office wants to announce further details this Thursday in a press conference.

Frequent connections to the Netherlands

It is no surprise that the suspects in the southern German proceedings were arrested in the Netherlands: connections to the neighboring country are suspected in more than 80 percent of the blasts in this country.

Instead of handling gas mixtures like a few years ago, the Dutch perpetrators now mainly use solid explosives - mostly from illegal Cobra firecrackers.

The powder from 15 to 20 crackers is enough for a charge that blows open a machine.

In November, 350 tons of pyrotechnics were seized in a raid on a network that had been smuggling illegal fireworks from China to the Netherlands.

The damage to bank branches and other buildings in which machines are located is increasing.

And the danger for residents and passers-by has also increased significantly.

In the Netherlands itself, the number of ATM demolitions has fallen sharply.

In 2013 there were 129 cases, last year just 15. The Federal Criminal Police Office writes of a "displacement effect" because in the neighboring country both "the pressure to prosecute and preventive measures" have been intensified.

Systems that render the notes in the cash boxes unusable after they have been blown up have proven to be effective, for example with paint, but especially with glue.

In Germany, the Sprengers stole more than 100,000 euros in cash per machine.

In 2021 it was a total of 19.5 million euros.

According to information from investigators, the loot in the Netherlands was zero euros last year.