Criminality - Charge against the suspected ATM bomber
Due to a series of ATM explosions, the General Prosecutor's Office Frankfurt has charged a 27-year-old man. He is suspected of being a member of a criminal organization from the Netherlands and participating in several planned and executed explosions between October 2020 and June 2021 in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, and Hessen. In some cases, significant damage was caused and, according to reports, cash was stolen in one instance.
During a failed explosion attempt in June 2021 in Buseck, Hessen (Landkreis Gießen), two suspects were arrested on the scene, a third escaped and went into hiding. This 27-year-old man was reportedly arrested after an extensive search in and outside of Germany in April 2024 in Pfungstadt, South Hesse. He has been in detention since then, according to the General Prosecutor's Office.
The 27-year-old man is therefore charged with the suspicion of causing three explosions, commercial burglary in two attempted and one completed cases, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Four crime scenes
The alleged crime scenes were therefore in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia (District Recklinghausen), in October 2020; Goldbach, Bavaria (Landkreis Aschaffenburg), in May 2021; Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia (District Coesfeld), in June 2021; and Buseck, Hessen (Landkreis Gießen), in June 2021.
In Dorsten, the perpetrators fled without loot, in Goldbach they stole around 70,000 Euro and caused around 100,000 Euro in damage. In Nottuln, the perpetrators also fled without loot, the damage caused by the explosion was estimated by the General Prosecutor's Office to be around 186,000 Euro. In Buseck, there was no explosion as the police intervened in time.
- The 27-year-old man, under investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office Frankfurt, is accused of engaging in criminal activities beyond Germany, specifically in the Netherlands.
- The indictment against the suspect includes charges related to the ATM explosions that took place in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, and Hesse, regions that include cities like Frankfurt am Main and Southern Hesse.
- The failed explosion attempt in June 2021 in Buseck, District Gießen, led to the arrest of two suspects, while the 27-year-old man was apprehended later in nearby Pfungstadt.
- The General Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt is seeking trial for the man's involvement in causing three explosions, committing commercial burglary in two attempted and one completed cases, and conspiring to commit crimes.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office Frankfurt is also considering the financial implications of the ATM explosions, as cash was reportedly stolen from an ATM in one instance, causing substantial damage in various locations throughout Germany, including Dorsten, Goldbach, Nottuln, and Buseck.
