Gardaí to crack down on ‘hole in the wall’ raiders

A SENIOR officer is to lead a Garda operation to combat a sharp rise in so-called “hole-in-the-wall” raids on ATM machines.

There have been six such raids in the past seven weeks, including two since last Friday.

In each case, stolen JCBs or diggers were used todemolish ATM bays and scoop out cash machines.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy called a high-level meeting yesterday morning involving regional commanders and heads of specialist national units.

The Garda boss directly appealed to the owners of such machinery to boost their security measures.

“An Garda Síochána would strongly appeal to owners of heavy plantmachinery to review their security arrangements inorder to ensure their equipment is not used in these crimes,” said Commissioner Murphy.

“As many of these robberies take place in the early hours of the morning, I am also appealing to members of the community to immediately report any unusual activity to gardaí.”

In the raids, the criminals stole the diggers or JCBs from building sites.

The cash in the machines is not protected with dyes, unlike cash boxes used by security van staff, and can be accessed once the machines are removed.

Gardaí suspect the robberies are the work of at least two gangs, including one based in Clondalkin, west Dublin. A third gang has been broken-up following arrests by the Organised Crime Unit.

The recent raids include:

* July 26: A gang used a digger to smash through the Ulster Bank branch in Athboy, Co Meath. The raid was aborted.

* July 24: Raiders used a digger to rip an Ulster Bank ATM from Mace Maxol service station on Bellefield Road, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.

* July 18: A gang unsuccessfully used a digger toremove an ATM from anUlster Bank branch in Clones, Co Monaghan.

* July 6: A digger was used to grab a supermarket ATM just across the border in Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh. Three men were arrested.

* June 12: A digger was used to drag out an ATM machine from a Bank of Ireland branch at Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny.

* June 6: A JCB scooped out an ATM machine from Mother Hubbard’s, Moyvalley, Co Kildare.