Rostock (dpa/mv) – Since Monday, two suspected ATM blasters have had to answer to the Rostock district court. The trial is taking place before the court’s juvenile chamber because one of the accused was still an adolescent at the time of the crime, a court spokeswoman said. According to the State Criminal Police Office, they are said to be responsible for three acts in which ATMs in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were blown up or attempted in September and October 2021 by means of gas discharge.
In one case, the perpetrators made six-figure loot. All of the crimes also resulted in high property damage at the respective bank and associated damage to the building. According to the information, no one was injured. A third defendant was accused on Monday of spying on the crime scenes.
According to LKA figures, there were 392 blasts nationwide in 2021, with half of the attacks being attempts. According to the LKA, in 250 cases the perpetrators used solid explosives with a correspondingly high risk potential. The crime loot of 19.5 million euros for all completed blasts resulted in an average sum of around 100,000 euros per blast for 2021. The property damage caused by the blasts exceeded the damage caused by the loot, in some cases significantly.
