Three Romanians Caught Stealing Lakhs From Kerala ATM

(pc-google images)

Three Romanian nationals are suspected to have stolen lakhs in an ATM robbery that has shocked the state of Kerala. Police said that the stolen money could amount up to Rs.4.5 lakh, and have decided to seek Interpol’s help.

A team of top police officers and cyber and technical experts visited the ATM of a public sector bank at Althara junction at Vellayambalam, where a suspected electronic device was found to have been installed.

On CCTV footage from ATMs in Thiruvananthapuram, three foreigners were seen reaching up and apparently tampering with the smoke alarm. City Police Commissioner G Sparjan Kumar said that police are trying to ascertain the whereabouts of the three persons, whose pictures had been retrieved from the CCTV. "We examined the visuals of the CCTV and got the pictures of three foreigners.

"We suspect that they had a hand in the ATM robbery," he said. "We have already intensified our investigation to trace their whereabouts and establish their identity. We are also probing whether more persons were involved in the crime," added he.

It is suspected that the electronic device at the ATM counter enabled the fraudsters to collect the secret pin code and card details.

Meanwhile, one of the suspects , Romanian Gabriel Marian, was arrested in Mumbai. He has revealed that the robbery was both high-tech and incredibly simple, involving at least two other Romanians, Bogdean Florian and Christan Victor. Kerala wants to ask Interpol to help catch the other two.