Latest brazen ATM raid will ‘embarrass’ PSNI

The latest in a string of ATM thefts, this time at a large Tesco store while staff were present in the building, will be “embarrassing” for police.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Apr 2019, 12:03 GMT
Updated 27th Apr 2019, 12:08 GMT
Pacemaker Press 25/4/2019 Cash Machines recovered near the Woodside Road in Balllymena on Friday , Two cash machines stolen in an overnight raid have been recovered by police. The theft happened on the Larne Link Road in Ballymena, with thieves ripping the two machines from a Tesco. Police received a report of the incident at about 03:00 BST, after a pick-up type vehicle loaded with the cash machines was spotted fleeing. 12 cash machines have been stolen in 10 incidents in Northern Ireland in 2019. Pic Colm Lenaghan/PacemakerPacemaker Press 25/4/2019 Cash Machines recovered near the Woodside Road in Balllymena on Friday , Two cash machines stolen in an overnight raid have been recovered by police. The theft happened on the Larne Link Road in Ballymena, with thieves ripping the two machines from a Tesco. Police received a report of the incident at about 03:00 BST, after a pick-up type vehicle loaded with the cash machines was spotted fleeing. 12 cash machines have been stolen in 10 incidents in Northern Ireland in 2019. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Pacemaker Press 25/4/2019 Cash Machines recovered near the Woodside Road in Balllymena on Friday , Two cash machines stolen in an overnight raid have been recovered by police. The theft happened on the Larne Link Road in Ballymena, with thieves ripping the two machines from a Tesco. Police received a report of the incident at about 03:00 BST, after a pick-up type vehicle loaded with the cash machines was spotted fleeing. 12 cash machines have been stolen in 10 incidents in Northern Ireland in 2019. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

That is the verdict of Alan Mains, a former PSNI detective superintendent who is now a director at security firm SecuriGroup.

He was speaking after a digger was used to rip two ATMs from the wall of a supermarket on Larne Link Road in the early hours of yesterday morning.

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The thieves managed to avoid capture after abandoning their pick-up vehicle and the stolen cash machines.

Pacemaker Press 25/4/2019 Forensics at the Scene at the Tesco's in Balllymena on Friday , Two cash machines stolen in an overnight raid have been recovered by police. The theft happened on the Larne Link Road in Ballymena, with thieves ripping the two machines from a Tesco. Police received a report of the incident at about 03:00 BST, after a pick-up type vehicle loaded with the cash machines was spotted fleeing. 12 cash machines have been stolen in 10 incidents in Northern Ireland in 2019. Pic Colm Lenaghan/PacemakerPacemaker Press 25/4/2019 Forensics at the Scene at the Tesco's in Balllymena on Friday , Two cash machines stolen in an overnight raid have been recovered by police. The theft happened on the Larne Link Road in Ballymena, with thieves ripping the two machines from a Tesco. Police received a report of the incident at about 03:00 BST, after a pick-up type vehicle loaded with the cash machines was spotted fleeing. 12 cash machines have been stolen in 10 incidents in Northern Ireland in 2019. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Pacemaker Press 25/4/2019 Forensics at the Scene at the Tesco's in Balllymena on Friday , Two cash machines stolen in an overnight raid have been recovered by police. The theft happened on the Larne Link Road in Ballymena, with thieves ripping the two machines from a Tesco. Police received a report of the incident at about 03:00 BST, after a pick-up type vehicle loaded with the cash machines was spotted fleeing. 12 cash machines have been stolen in 10 incidents in Northern Ireland in 2019. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

But Mr Mains, a former crime advisor for Northern Ireland, stressed that it is now only a “matter of time” before the gangs believed to be behind the thefts are caught.

“The public perception of this will be embarrassing for the police,” the former detective said. “But I have no doubt in my mind that they (the thieves) will get caught. It’s only a matter of time. I would imagine the gangs are well known now by the police.”

He added: “The public perception is that police should have caught them by now but I have no doubt that it is only a matter of time.”

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The head of Retail NI, a body representing shop owners, has said there are now “questions that need to be asked” of police after the total number of ATM machines stolen this year rose to 14.

A forensics officer at the scene of the latest ATM theft, which occurred at a supermarket on Larne Link Road, Balllymena. Pic: Colm Lenaghan/PacemakerA forensics officer at the scene of the latest ATM theft, which occurred at a supermarket on Larne Link Road, Balllymena. Pic: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
A forensics officer at the scene of the latest ATM theft, which occurred at a supermarket on Larne Link Road, Balllymena. Pic: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

Glyn Roberts added: “There are questions that need to be asked as to how the gang got away. These guys have to be caught. There’s no ifs or buts about it.

“It’s one thing to attack a small shop but to target a large store like Tesco is another.”

But two former senior PSNI officers have pointed to the lack of resources available to police.

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Former deputy chief constable Alan McQuillan said: “It’s a fundamental issue of resources. The PSNI is far below the strength that Patton recommended they should be at – about 8,300 officers. They are hugely below that with about 6,300.”

As for the thieves, Mr McQuillan said: “These people feel like they can operate with impugnity. There seems to be no fear of being caught. And that goes back down to the overall funding of the police, the intelligence they have, the materials, the resources not just for patrol but also for detective work and forensics – the entire system.

“We have allowed the police service to be run down over a long number of years and it’s very difficult to stop this.”

Former Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter said: “There is a lack of operational resources which makes it very difficult to stop.

“That is the story here – the lack of resources.”