Blamraids still a problem in the uk
Thieves are blowing up cash machines in potentially deadly explosions that have been sweeping across the UK.
Police say the strength of some blasts has been comparable to “a bomb going off”, seeing millions of pounds stolen, buildings destroyed and local infrastructure decimated.Almost 100 gas explosions targeting cash machines were recorded by police in England and Wales last year, including 23 carried out by a single gang that stole more than £1.5m in a three month spree across the Midlands.sophisticated, so the potential risk to life is absolutely huge,” he told The Independent.“They commit these offences at a time when not many people are about, in the early hours of the morning when the explosions can be heard for miles around. It was a new phenomenon for us.”Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Gallagher, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Organised Crime Command, said the blasts were being launched by several criminal gangs.“The gas attacks are not particularly sophisticated, so the potential risk to life is absolutely huge,” he told The Independent.“They commit these offences at a time when not many people are about, in the early hours of the morning when the explosions can be heard for miles around. It was a new phenomenon for us.”So far this year no cash machine explosions have been reported in London after a prolific gang was jailed, though six have taken place nationally.
Police said culprits are using legally purchased gas, of a type employed by welders, which is pumped into cash machines and crudely detonated by hand.Detective Superintendent Simon Moring said the “very dangerous crime type” has devastating consequences for rural communities that rely on ATMs.“This is a really big bang akin to a bomb going off,” he added. “They take the ATM and side of the building out as well, in horrendous explosions that leave the building visibly and structurally damaged.”Det Supt Moring said the phenomenon was part of a wider trend of ripping out cash machines, sometimes using stolen vehicles, JCBs and other machinery.Criminal gangs are also regularly targeting cash in transit vans and “terrorising members of the public” with violent smash-and-grab raids.Last year saw 212 cash-in-transit robberies across England and Wales, including 65 in London, while 16 ATMs have been stolen in the capital so far this year.The Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad, which celebrates its 100th anniversary on Thursday, is charged with investigating armed robberies, kidnapping and other serious crime.Commanders said their investigations show that London organised crime groups are currently “diversifying” from high-risk raids into lucrative drug trafficking, fraud and cybercrime.
One of the current trends is violent smash-and-grab raids that see robbers armed with guns, knives, machetes and other weapons ram vehicles into high-end clothes, watch and jewellery shops.In the high-end ones the levels of violence are absolutely extreme,” Det Ch Supt Gallagher said.“The more people that we manage to arrest and successfully prosecute the better, it is a phenomenon at the moment.”Asked what was driving the trend, the senior officer told The Independent austerity could be playing a role.“London is becoming wealthier and wealthier, and there is a divide between rich and poor,” he continued. “At the very high end it’s the super-rich, and at the low end it’s homelessness and destitution.”
Det Ch Supt Gallagher said there was also a “societal question” over the desire for designer products people are unable to afford, adding: “As long as there is a demand for these kind of goods, there will be people willing to take high risks in order to get them.”He said that there was a “graduation” from raids on shops to street robberies using scooters, which have sparked alarm following a dramatic spike that saw high-profile victims including home secretary Sajid Javid and comedian Michael McIntyre.But the commander insisted that violent crime was “stabilising” overall, despite 99 murders so far this year in London and a nationwide rise in murder, robberies and stabbings.
“The policing response is starting to take hold now, and we’re having significant arrests and convictions which themselves are a deterrent,” he added.The biggest challenge now is technology, communications networks and encryption… it may be that going forward we have to start re-establishing some of the older ways we used to work.”
He spoke as the Flying Squad geared up for centenary celebrations, which will mark some of its most high-profile cases, including the Hatton Garden robbery, thwarted Millennium Dome raid, Brink’s-Mat security depot robbery, and the 1960s Great Train Robbery.
Barry Phillips, head of the Flying Squad Officers’ Association, said the unit was started in 1918 partly as a response to an early form of smash-and-grab raids, which used emerging motor vehicles. “Times have changed because now it’s the moped riders,” he added.Initially called the Experimental Mobile Patrol, the first detectives were hidden inside covered horse-drawn wagons, ready to jump out if they spotted a suspected offender.
It remains the only dedicated mainland detective unit that investigates armed robberies from start to finish, with detectives trained in firearms and covert surveillance roles. The Flying Squad has developed its own armed intervention tactics, known as “pavement ambushes”, which have resulted in the arrests of some of London’s most notorious criminals. But it has been marred by scandals in the past when a small number of officers had been receiving bribes to tip-off criminals about raids, and were involved in drug dealing and other corruption. Mr Phillips, who used to head the unit, said there was “always bad apples but it was dealt with head-on”.
Blamraid gang caught in Sydney
THE incendiary secrets of some Sydney ATM bamraiders have been revealed in amazing video showing them blowing a cash machine to bits.The bandits then bashed their way into the bank with a sledgehammer to retrieve the cash.The Daily Telegraph obtained exclusive CCTV footage of a raid at North Ryde, Sydney on October 24, showing how gangs are setting off dangerous gas explosions to bust open ATMs in a matter of minutes.
Illustrating for the first time the speed of the raids and the damage they inflict, the footage shows two thieves carrying two gas cylinders to the ATM, at the Bendigo Bank in Cox's Rd.A third arrives to help set up the explosion as one of the men carries a detonator around the corner.A fuse is then laid from the ATM to the detonator. The bandits pump gas - believed to be oxy-acetylene - into the ATM's money slot using hoses before retreating to the detonator. The set-up takes less than two minutes.The force of the blast tosses glass, metal and plastic debris onto the road.Two of the thieves run back to the machine and attempt to pull the shattered ATM casing from the wall.When that fails, one of the men tries to kick through the bank's door. Another arrives carrying a sledgehammer, which is used to smash through the bank's glass front.All three men enter the bank and emerge carrying what is believed to be cash from the ATM.The bandits run from the ATM to the car and back again a number of times, gathering equipment and an unknown amount of cash.The raid ends when the men run towards a car to make their getaway. Police arrived on the scene just three minutes after the explosion. They immediately established a crime scene while a police car gave chase to the thieves, who escaped in a silver BMW sedan.Officers pursued the bandits before calling off the chase because of safety concerns.Security experts and police say thieves are using the explosions because of heightened ATM security measures.It is believed thieves have copied the technique from Europe, where explosive attacks have become increasingly common in the past three years.Police have warned that the attacks put the public at risk because of the extreme volatility of the explosions.
Man wastes time and explosives and doesn’t gain a thing
A man stands accused of trying to blow up 10 automatic teller machines across Sydney in 30 days - all for a cash return of zero.
Strike Force Croot detectives arrested the 50-year-old at a home in Mount Pritchard, in Sydney's south-west, home about 8am on Thursday before allegedly seizing improvised explosive devices inside his vehicle.The bombs were rendered safe by Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit officers and have been sent away for forensic examination.It is alleged the man used similar devices to damage 10 machines between December 18 and January 16 in unsuccessful attempts to breach vaults and access cash.
The attacks were on machines in areas such as Canley Heights, Condell Park, Miller, Panania, Prestons and Wakeley.Robbery and Serious Crime Squad investigators have charged the man with seven counts of destroying or damaging property and four counts of damaging property by fire or explosive.
He was refused bail and is due to appear in Fairfield Local Court on Thursday.
Accused on trial for Blamraids
A man on parole for armed robbery is alleged to be the mastermind of a series of hold-ups and gas attacks on Sydney automatic teller machines (ATMs).
Anthony Charles Honeysett, 25, was arrested on Friday morning at his Pyrmont apartment where police allegedly found a sawn-off shotgun, gas cylinders, piping, drugs and cash.He has since been charged with 19 offences including robbery, larceny, drug matters and firearms offences.The charges relate to three ATM attacks - at Chester Hill, Clovelly and Rhodes - where the machines were blown up after being pumped full of gas, as well as armed robberies at hotels, clubs and pharmacies across Sydney since September 17 last year.
Honeysett's Aboriginal Legal Service solicitor Sheryn Omeri did not apply for bail when he faced Central Local Court.A man on parole for armed robbery is alleged to be the mastermind of a series of hold-ups and gas attacks on Sydney automatic teller machines (ATMs).
Anthony Charles Honeysett, 25, was arrested on Friday morning at his Pyrmont apartment where police allegedly found a sawn-off shotgun, gas cylinders, piping, drugs and cash.He has since been charged with 19 offences including robbery, larceny, drug matters and firearms offences.The charges relate to three ATM attacks - at Chester Hill, Clovelly and Rhodes - where the machines were blown up after being pumped full of gas, as well as armed robberies at hotels, clubs and pharmacies across Sydney since September 17 last year.
Honeysett's Aboriginal Legal Service solicitor Sheryn Omeri did not apply for bail when he faced Central Local Court.However, later the same night it is believed the same group successfully stole $62,340 from a Bank of Queensland ATM at Rhodes.
Dressed in the same clothes he was wearing at the time of his arrest, Honeysett sat quietly in the dock as his matter was mentioned, blowing a kiss to a woman in the public gallery as he was led back to the cells.Earlier on Friday, Detective Superintendent Greig Newbery said the ATM attacks were believed to be the work of a crime gang of which Honeysett was a "significant" member.
"We will allege that this person was working as part of a criminal group," Supt Newbery told reporters."Our inquiries are continuing and we are very confident we will be arresting further persons in relation to these offences.He was certainly a significant member of this criminal group, that is what we will allege."Detectives have been working desperately to identify those responsible for more than 30 attacks on ATMs across NSW since July last year.Police said late last year that millions of dollars had been stolen during the explosive raids."I'm confident that in the near distant future we will certainly be arresting more people," Supt Newbery said."I believe there are a number of criminal groups involved in this, but I don't want to speculate on who or how many."
Honeysett will next face Central Local Court on March 26.
