£25,000 rewards follow ATM raids

A reward of up to £25,000 is being offered for anyone who can help catch criminals targeting cash machines in Northern Ireland.

The move, by LINK, the operator of the UK's cash machine network, follows a spate of cash machine thefts in NI.

Since March there have been 13 thefts of ATMs across Northern Ireland - with the cash machines being physically removed.

Police have said they are trying to establish whether the raids are linked.

A number of the thefts - although not all - have involved the use of diggers or other heavy machinery.

There were three such incidents in different parts of Northern Ireland in just four days in October.

LINK has teamed up with the Crimestoppers charity in a bid to combat the crime across the UK.

The company's Graham Mott said while raids involving diggers had happened across the UK, they currently seemed to be mostly confined to Northern Ireland.

He said ATMs in isolated or rural areas would be more vulnerable, but the thieves would consider a number of factors when planning their attacks.

"I think it very much depends on the availability of machinery - it's probably the biggest factor, if they can get nearby diggers," he said.

"Then the criminals would probably look at how long the police response is and things like that.

"But sometimes they can be in and away very quickly, in which case they might be prepared to try one in a town centre."

'Ruthless'

Mr Mott said those behind the digger raids would require a degree of "ruthlessness and determination".

"It requires certainly a level of organisation in that there'll be several people involved and it obviously involves the ability to steal vehicles .

"Usually, you've got one or two vehicles involved, one in which the gang will arrive in, one which they'll put the ATM in and one in which they'll escape in as well.

"So you're looking at two or three vehicles and you require the ability to be quick."

Mr Mott said steps were being taken to make it more difficult for the thieves to remove cash machines.

In a statement, the PSNI said all the recent thefts of ATMs were being "thoroughly investigated and a number of lines of inquiry are being pursued".

"Police would also advise owners of large plant machinery to ensure they are locked and secure at all times," it said.

"Opportunist thieves will steal insecure plant machinery for use in crimes such as ATM thefts."

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