Dutch suspects linked to 82 ATM bombings in Germany this year

The Dutch and German police have their hands full with Dutch criminals committing ATM bombings in Germany. In the first four months of this year, Dutch suspects were linked to 82 ATM bombings on German territory. Last year the cooperation between the two police forces resulted in the arrest of 98 suspects in the Netherlands, 49 of whom are suspected of ATM bombings in Germany, AD reports.

In the Netherlands, 33 ATMs were blown open so far this year.

The Dutch police currently have sights on 300 suspects of ATM bombings, Aart Garssen, responsible for the ATM bombings file at the police, said to the newspaper. These suspects are professionals who work together in constantly changing relationships, he said. They mainly come from the Utrecht and Amsterdam regions. They use fast cars to penetrate further and further into Germany, blow open ATMs to steal the cash therein, and then flee back to the Netherlands.

While these gangs initially targeted ATMs in the Nordrhein-Westfalen en Niedersachsen regions, they now reach as far as Munich and Berlin, according to Garssen.

Last week the police announced that they arrested four people suspected of being part of a criminal gang involved in ATM bombings. The 21-year-old man from Ede, 26-year-old man from Arhnem, 25-year-old man from Wageningen, and 23-year-old woman from Amsterdam are suspected of an ATM bombing in Germering, near Munich in October 2017.

"Our investigation methods are becoming increasingly innovative. That is bearing fruit", Garssen said about the arrests. The Dutch police intensified its cooperation with all 16 German police regions, he said to AD.