One night, two ATM takeaway raids, just 15 minutes apart
PSNI and gardaí investigate weekend robberies
THIEVES used diggers to steal two ATMs in Co. Cavan and Co. Tyrone yesterday morning in raids just 15 minutes apart.
Gardaí and PSNI are investigating the crimes as being likely coordinated by a border gang that has ripped out ATMs several times before.
Several members are believed to be former members of the Provisional IRA.
The first incident occurred at around 4am yesterday morning when an ATM was ripped out of the Bank of Ireland on Main Street, Kingscourt, Co. Cavan.
The ATM device was then placed on a trailer which was towed by SUV in the direction of Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan.
Fifteen minutes later, another digger was taken to an ATM at a filling station in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone. This ATM was also placed on a trailer that was towed away by an SUV, officers in Omagh said.
The digger, which had been stolen from a business nearby, was set on fire after the theft.
As the scene in Cavan was sealed off for technical examination yesterday, gardaí appealed for witnesses. Meanwhile in Tyrone, the PSNI said the filling station on Dungannon’s Ballygawley Road was substantially damaged in the incident.
Detective Inspector Trevor Stevenson said: ‘We believe the digger was stolen from a business a short distance away. The digger was set alight at the scene immediately after the theft.
‘I am appealing to anyone who was in the area between 4am and 4.15am... and who has information which could assist our investigation to call us. In particular, I
Towed away on trailer by SUV
am appealing to anyone who saw a vehicle towing a trailer in the Gortlenaghan Road or Ballygawley Road areas to get in touch.’
The gang believed to be responsible for the raids has targeted banks, garages and supermarkets and has been responsible for 20 such robberies on both sides of the border over the past decade. The group’s leader is a wellknown criminal who has previously smuggled weapons for the Provisional IRA. He operated a business stealing heavy machinery from building sites in the UK and transporting them to Ireland. The gang is believed to have carried out a similar hit on an ATM in Ballybay, Co. Monaghan, last December.
In January, a similar raid saw thieves unsuccessfully try to use a digger to rip an ATM from a wall in Omagh, also at around 4am on a Sunday morning. Yesterday, Glyn Roberts, of Retail Northern Ireland, warned that retailers may be forced to shut down ATMs, given the number of attacks. ‘These attacks are now a major problem for local retailers,’ he told UTV.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to the Cavan incident to contact then at Bailieboro Garda Station on 042 9694570.
TWO ATMs were ripped out of border towns by gangsters on Saturday night. A cash machine was taken from the main street in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan, and a similar crime took place in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone. In both cases, it appears a digger was transported to the scene on a loader, used to remove the machines from their moorings, and the ATM was then taken away in another vehicle. In the case of Kingscourt, it’s the third time the bank has been robbed in the last eight years.
These gangs are undoubtedly coordinated and are taking advantage of the different regimes on either side of the border. But these are not victimless crimes. As well as the damage to property, it adds pressure on institutions that are already scaling back the number of ATMs across the country. The move towards a ‘cashless society’ means that those in rural areas are already poorly served by banking infrastructure. And these brazen crimes threaten to make that situation worse. These gangs must be stopped.