Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘€61k ATM raid gang linked to 30 other incidents’
A GANG that allegedly stole more than £61,000 from a cash machine is suspected of carrying out nearly 30 other raids across Northern Ireland, the High Court heard yesterday.
Prosecutors said a dedicated team of detectives are probing all incidents being linked to a robbery where street lights were deactivated and telephone lines cut to prevent alarms being triggered. Details emerged during a bail application by the alleged ringleader of the team accused of plundering the ATM at a filling station on the Irvinestown Road in Trory, near Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, on August 2.
Leonardo Petrovici, 32, a Romanian national with an address at Rannoche Close, Crossgar, denies charges of burglary and possessing criminal property. Four other men and a woman are also accused of offences connected to the robbery, where a total of £61,340 was stolen.
Crown lawyer Adrian Higgins said street lighting, satellite dishes and electronic advertising were turned off before the raiders struck in the middle of the night. Phone and broadband wires were cut to ensure no security systems activated.
With the accused’s partner telling the court they arrived no more than six months ago, the bail application was adjourned for further checks to be carried out.
Mr Justice Mccloskey requested documentary evidence of their joint flight from Budapest to Belfast.