The so-called ATM Gang, who would use stolen cars to rip cash dispensers from the walls of shopping centres and the like, have finally be caught.
The declaration was made yesterday by head of police Jaroslav Spisiak, following a police operation on Saturday, which saw the arrest in Sered of three men, who were allegedly involved in the robberies. The other two gang members are abroad at present, but international arrest warrants have been issued to apprehend them.
The gang look to be tried for the same crime also in Austria and the Czech Republic, as the same practice was used in ATM thefts there as well. Spisiak admitted that there had been various ‘imposters’ who had tried to conduct robberies in the same way, but the police knew which ones had been committed by the apprehended gang.
As part of the raid, the police made searches of various premises, from which they confiscated stolen vehicles, walkie-talkies, car registration plates, mobile phones and phone cards, as well as an array of tools and false uniforms. They even had special signal disruption devices to block mobile phone calls.
In just seven of the cases the gang stole around EUR 345,000, while the damages they caused to buildings using explosives and chains came to even more at over EUR 500,000.
The three arrested men, Jan G from Galanta and Martin K and Martin K from Sered, together with their two associates, could face up to 15 years in prison for their crimes.