Sometimes thieves will steal money from an ATM, or even several ATMS – but these thieves decided somehow that it was simply easier to take the whole thing and deal with prying it open later.
Israel Police received a report Saturday night that a group of young people were breaking out an ATM in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona using a tractor.
Sure enough, the report was true and police soon hunted down one of the culprits, a young Arab man in his 20s living in the nearby village of Tuba-Zangariya, according to the Hebrew-language Hidabroot news site. The suspect was caught while driving a pickup truck in which the ATM was found. Several other suspects who were along for the ride managed to hop off and escape.
During the subsequent chase by police, a second suspect was arrested, and searches continued on through the night to find the rest of the culprits.
It was soon discovered that not only was the ATM stolen, but the pickup truck used as a getaway car and the tractor with which the group wrenched the ATM out of the bank were also stolen — both apparently taken from local Jewish community.
The suspects are now being held in custody, where they’ll remain until the end of legal proceedings against them.
Local ATMs are safe once more.
