Cross -border network of the ATMSPRENGER SCHUME!

Cross -border network of the ATMSPRENGER SCHUME!

Investigators from Germany and the Netherlands have smashed a cross -border network of alleged ATMPRENGER. A total of 18 suspects were caught who were active in several German federal states and in Switzerland and France. The gang caused a damage of around 1.2 million euros, with solid explosiv force being worked with solid explosives. During the explosions, damage to materials occurred in the millions and the perpetrators fled in highly motorized vehicles. The arrests have been graded since April 2024, with the last two suspects being caught on Tuesday morning. 17 of the 18 suspects are Dutch citizens from Utrecht and Amsterdam, one is Turkish citizen. Practically all arrests took place in the Netherlands, and there was a arrest in Spain. In raids, 290,000 euros in cash, a cryptocurrency wallet worth over 600,000 euros and explosives were confiscated. According to Kleine Zeitung there have been 21 in Austria or accomplished ATM blasting, whereby local investigators suspect connections of the perpetrator to the Netherlands.

The perpetrators are presumably related to the "Mocro-Mafia", a crime organization that mainly recruits people with Moroccan roots. These groups are controversial in the Netherlands and the police estimate that around 1,000 to 2000 people belong to them. The increase in the ATM in Austria is alarming - 18 cases have already been reported in 2025, compared to 13 in 2024.

Details on the arrests

On Friday, a group of Dutch bank robbers blew an ATM in Gmunden, Upper Austria. The detonation led to damage to the escape car because the airbags triggered. After leaving the escape car back, the perpetrators fled a vehicle from a parking lot of a nearby Matura egg on foot and stole a vehicle. This stolen car was burned a day later in a forest near Wels. With a new escape car, the perpetrators in Linz fought a chase with the police, during which they reached speeds of up to 260 km/h. In the night of Sunday, three suspects aged 35 and 36 were arrested in the Marktl area, Bavaria. This escape ended in a roundabout in Bavaria, where the car was thrown off the street. The three men were seriously injured, one hovers in mortal danger; A fourth perpetrator is still fleeting.

The police were unable to confirm a direct connection with the "Mocro-Mafia", but the origin of the suspects indicates deeper networked criminal structures. This information agrees with the findings of the German government: Over 70% of suspects do not come from Germany, and many Dutch suspects have Moroccan roots, such as Welt reports. These developments are accompanied by the increasing number of explosions in Germany; At least one ATM is blown up every day, in North Rhine-Westphalia there were 153 acts in 2022. Despite the growing dangers for uninvolved, the shell of the shyness Nancy Faeser.

In the future, experts expect that the increase in explosions will last, which requires urgent measures to improve the security of the ATMs and to protect the population. The Federal Criminal Police Office is already working on various initiatives to combat this organized crime, but the previous successes remain behind the expectations.