NEW YORK – Police are looking for a group of five thieves who have robbed ATMs from at least 42 businesses in Brooklyn and Queens over the past six months, an apparently sophisticated team that not only takes cash but the entire machines in the thefts.
Each of the robberies, which began in December, occurred at night or in the early morning hours while businesses, ranging from donut shops to laundromats, were closed.
Video provided by the NYPD from an earlier Fulton Street robbery shows one of the thieves pulling the ATM out of the wall, then dragging it into a hallway with a broken window. The man and an accomplice outside can be seen on video apparently trying to figure out how to get the ATM out of the store.
A video from the East New York Deli on Elton Street from early June showed two thieves using a tool to break the lock on a metal door, while a third person looked on. When they finish, they lift the door and open a window to enter the store.
A store clerk believes the suspects must have scouted his store beforehand.
“They were definitely here because they only broke the particular spot where the ATM was. They didn’t break anywhere else, just that,” he said. “Unfortunately, they seem to know what they’re doing, because 42? That’s not luck anymore.”
Police said they are investigating but have not yet drawn a connection to the ATM robberies that NBC New York previously highlighted in April. Those thieves also attacked businesses in Brooklyn and Queens, taking entire machines out of stores.
The sheer number of ATMs seized in the latest pattern of robberies, as well as the $60,000 stolen, has local businesses urging police to catch the group quickly.
No arrests have been made yet. An investigation is ongoing.
–
