ATMs are usually full of bills, making them the perfect target for criminals. In a large-scale operation in the Rhine-Main area, investigators have now arrested several members of a gang who are said to be behind a series of professionally organized demolitions.
Investigators have raided suspected members of a highly professional gang of ATM blasters and drug dealers in the Rhine-Main area. During the campaign, seven suspects between the ages of 22 and 33 were arrested and numerous objects were searched, according to the police, customs and public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt am Main. Special forces were also deployed.
According to investigators, some of the suspects are accused of preparing to blow up three ATMs in Obertshausen, Offenbach am Main and Lauterbach at the beginning of last year. Access routes should therefore be blocked by the perpetrators with burning cars. They also rented hotel rooms and holiday apartments to scout out the targets and rented high-powered vehicles for their escape.
Other suspects are said to have dealt in drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine and marijuana on a large scale. According to the investigators, they are said to have sold amounts of drugs in the range of several hundred kilograms within a year. Accordingly, they also produced considerable quantities themselves.
The arrests and searches were part of a larger investigation into members of the criminal organization. According to the authorities, other members of the gang have already been sentenced to prison terms by a court for their part in the ATM blasts. Two detainees are also accused of an arson attack on a company owned by a former member of the gang in early 2020. There was property damage. The background was therefore a dispute in the management team.