The operation involved over 2,500 police officers who set up checkpoints on inter-regional travel routes and conducted checks on around 8,000 people and over 5,300 vehicles. This operation yielded significant results, including the arrest of 42 unrelated suspects, 22 of whom were involved in narcotics offenses, three in the execution of existing arrest warrants, and one in suspected burglary.
The state of Hesse’s Interior Minister, Peter Beuth, commended the cross-state nature of the operation and emphasized the need for better protection of ATMs to break up organized gangs. The German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser further expressed concern over the sharp increase in ATM demolitions and the frequent use of highly dangerous explosives, which not only pose a threat to property but also to human life.
Bystanders are directly endangered by the explosions and flying debris, and the perpetrators usually flee with highly motorised getaway vehicles at high speeds, putting many people at risk. With the increasing incidents of ATM bombings, the state will work with banks to enhance video surveillance and introduce indelible dyes and glues in machines that make stolen banknotes conspicuous and unusable.
According to official data, Germany recorded 496 cases of ATM detonations in 2022, marking a 27% increase from the previous year. This worrying trend clearly indicates the need for stepped-up measures against organized gangs that carry out these crimes in different states and across borders.
Germany cannot become an El Dorado for ATM bombers, as stated by North Rhine-Westhphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul. With such crimes becoming more frequent, it is essential to take action to prevent more harmful situations, including fatalities. The situation is even worse in some states such as Rhineland Palatinate, which alone recorded 56 ATM bombings in 2022, more than one per week.
