Luis F. Durán Madrid

Madrid

Updated Monday, February 19, 2024-11:42

The National Police has dismantled a criminal group dedicated to the theft of ATMs using previously stolen crane trucks to remove them from their anchors, according to the Madrid Police Headquarters. There are

four detainees of Moroccan and Spanish nationality.

Two of them have gone to prison.

The investigation began last September when an ATM was robbed at a bank branch in a town in Guadalajara using

a previously stolen crane truck.

As the investigations advanced, the agents verified that there could be an organized group to commit these acts, which carefully chose the branches that met the ideal conditions to be able to carry out the theft quickly and unnoticed.

They dismantled the ATMs in an operations center in El Molar.

The modus operandi was always the same. Previously, they stole high-powered crane trucks that would allow them to tear the ATM from the floor or wall by bursting its ties. Once in the chosen place,

they broke the walls and glass panes with the arm of the crane to subsequently link and lift the ATM with the help of the slings.

After lifting it,

they placed it on the truck itself to begin the escape to an operations center

where they dismantled it so they could open it and get the money.

They pretended to be construction workers

In order to go unnoticed in the neighborhood where they performed,

they dressed in reflective clothing and protection, pretending to be construction workers

who were carrying out maintenance work on public roads. Sometimes they used a second support car, also stolen, in case they were discovered in order to guarantee their escape from the place quickly.

Last November, these individuals were found fleeing at a police checkpoint after committing one of the robberies in the Madrid town of Alcalá de Henares. After detecting said control,

the truck driver ignored the instructions of the agents and crossed

the blocking barriers used.

They immediately abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene, crossing the highway, putting their lives and the lives of other road users at serious risk. On this occasion, the large displacement vehicle that was providing support tried to run over the agents when they ordered it to stop. The stolen truck was

immediately

recovered, as well as the cashier, which contained more than 100,000 euros inside.

Subsequently, and after numerous police efforts, the investigators managed to identify the four members of this group as well as the location of the operations center where they went once the criminal acts had been committed.

For all this, a device was established that culminated in

five entries and searches where they located numerous material for vehicle theft

, the reflective clothing they had used, slings, casings belonging to stolen ATMs, money counting machines, vending trays and documentation.

In addition, two crane trucks and two stolen passenger cars with false license plates were recovered. The investigation, which was supervised by the Investigative Court number one of Alcalá de Henares, has resulted in the four detainees being charged with the

crimes of belonging to a criminal group, six thefts from ATMs, seven thefts from vehicles, two thefts of license plates, document falsification and attack on an authority agent.