- When the device activates, additional ATMs experience explosions.
Despite a nationwide decline in ATM bombings, these criminal activities have seen a surge in Baden-Württemberg. As per the State Criminal Office, there were 27 incidents in the first half of this year, which is 10 more than the first half of the previous year. However, not all attempts were successful, with the robbers sometimes leaving empty-handed or the explosions failing to occur.
In total, 42 incidents were reported in the entire previous year, marking an increase of almost 24%. The perpetrators managed to make off with around 1.9 million euros, but the property damage was significantly higher at 4.3 million euros. Nationwide, there were fewer ATM bombings, with the Federal Criminal Office recording 461 cases, a decrease of 7.1% compared to 2022, when a record high of 496 cases was recorded. This decrease is believed to be due to improved cooperation between German and international police forces.
Cash robbers are growing more violent
Investigators have noted a trend towards more dangerous methods. In approximately 90% of the national incidents, solid explosive substances were used, according to a report from the Federal Criminal Office. This is a significant shift from 2019, when gas or gas mixtures were predominantly used.
Solid explosives like pyrotechnics or even military explosives cause substantial damage and make it difficult for emergency services to estimate the impact of flying debris and shrapnel.
Numerous explosions and trials have made headlines this year
Several explosions and trials involving incidents in Baden-Württemberg have garnered media attention this year. Last month, the Bamberg Regional Court handed down suspended sentences ranging from one year to nine months and five years and eleven months in prison to 15 suspects, mostly Dutch nationals, who admitted to blowing up cash machines in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and stealing millions in cash.
Two weeks earlier, a cash robber who caused the death of an innocent 45-year-old man during a reckless escape from the police was sentenced to life in prison for murder by the Karlsruhe Regional Court. The suspect, part of a trio also from the Netherlands, had stolen 41,000 euros in cash after an explosion in Wiernsheim near Pforzheim in November. During the subsequent high-speed chase across the country, the then 30-year-old drove the getaway car in the wrong direction onto the A6 motorway, resulting in a fatal accident.
Suspects are often traced back to the Netherlands
The investigations often lead to the Netherlands. According to the State Criminal Office, there are established structures there. The gangs are driven by greed and operate professionally, as LKA President Andreas Stenger stated at the end of the year. In the Netherlands, electronic payments with cards are becoming increasingly popular, resulting in a decrease in the number of cash machines. The remaining and increasingly secure devices only contain smaller amounts.
According to a perpetrator profile by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Criminal Office, a large part of the explosions can be traced back to a community of several hundred people of North African origin living in Dutch cities like Utrecht and Amsterdam.
In late May last year, municipal leaders from the Upper Rhine voiced their concerns and urged the police to take action to prevent the bombing of ATMs. They argued that it was unacceptable for banks to hire private security services to protect the machines, writing to the Freiburg police president. The mayors of Bad Krozingen, Staufen, Breisach, Hartheim, and Heitersheim called for additional police forces in the region south of Freiburg.
The BKA (Federal Criminal Police Office) has been involved in several investigations related to the surge in ATM bombings in Baden-Württemberg, as noted in the incidents reported this year. The state authorities, including the BKA, are working closely to trace the suspects, many of whom have been linked to the Netherlands due to established structures there.
