Nine Dutch men arrested for 10 ATM explosions in Germany and Switzerland
Dutch police arrested nine Dutch men suspected of belonging to a criminal gang that carried out about 10 ATM explosions in Germany and Switzerland between 2023 and 2025, authorities said.
The suspects, all men between 25 and 39 years old, face charges linked to the attacks in the German state of Noordrijn-Westfalen and in Swiss cities near the French-German border region.
Six were arrested last week, two others had been detained earlier, and one more was taken into custody Wednesday. More arrests are not ruled out.
During searches at 15 locations in Amsterdam, Ouderkerk aan den Amstel, Krimpen aan den IJssel and Den Bosch, officers seized items possibly used in the explosions, data carriers, cash, dealer quantities of cocaine, vehicles and balaclavas.
In Ouderkerk aan den Amstel, the Explosieven Opruimingsdienst Defensie was called in and a street was closed after officers found a bag containing aluminum powder. The powder is often mixed with other substances and stuck to ATMs to increase the force of an explosion.
A police team in Düsseldorf had been investigating the gang since 2023. Analysis of traces left after the explosions showed the perpetrators were Dutch criminals who gradually shifted their operations from Germany to Switzerland after German banks introduced preventive measures against such attacks.
An international task force was formed that included German, French and Swiss authorities working with Amsterdam police and Europol. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service said the German investigation made clear that the perpetrators were Dutch.
Germany has struggled for years with ATM explosion gangs from the Netherlands, especially in Noordrijn-Westfalen, where Dutch suspects were involved in hundreds of such crimes in earlier years, according to German justice authorities. In Germany, the penalty for an ATM explosion ranges from one to 15 years in prison.
Dutch ATMs are heavily secured, with banknotes automatically glued together after an explosion, rendering them unusable.
