Dordrecht ATM blown up; 5 arrested

The Dordrecht police arrested five men on the N3 highway early on Thursday morning. They are suspected of using explosives to break into an ATM on Van Eersterenplein in the city a short time before their arrest, AD reports.

The ATM at the Hema store in De Bieshof shopping center was blown open at around 3:15 a.m.. A witness saw five people flee the scene.

The police caught up to the suspects on Dortse Randweg. They were arrested.

The Ministry of Defense's explosive removal department was called in to investigate the ATM and make sure no dangerous explosives were left behind. Part of the shopping center is cordoned off to the public, but the homes above the shopping center did not have to be evacuated.

This is the fourth early Thursday morning in a row that there has been an ATM bombing in the region, according to AD. Last week an ATM in Vlaardingen was blown up, and in the two weeks before that there were bombings in Spijkenisse.

A police spokesperson told the newspaper that it is too early to jump to conclusions. "But we are obviously including this in the investigation."