The police have apprehended three members of a gang that allegedly removed and stole around 30 automatic teller machines in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria, Police Corps President Jaroslav Spišiak said on March 7 as reported by the TASR newswire.
The three men were captured by a squad from the Office for the Fight Against Organised Crime which cooperated with other specialised police bodies, Spišiak said, adding that three of the men are from the town of Galanta while two other suspects live in nearby Sereď.
The arrests took place in Sereď where police said they found a Porsche Cayenne which allegedly was used by the gang to yank out teller machines using explosives and chains. Even though two alleged members of the gang were on the Canary Islands at the time of the action Spišiak said the police could not wait any longer to make the arrests.
He stated that an international arrest warrant has been issued for the two other suspects, adding that the gang was armed and well organised with accompanying vehicles and walkie-talkies. Moreover, their cars were equipped with devices to interfere with the signal of mobile operators and GPS devices, said Spišiak.
The gang allegedly stole a total of €347,000 while the total damage to the ATMs reached around €500,000. The men may face 10-15 years in prison.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
