Romanian held for hi-tech ATM robbery

Thiruvananthapuram, August 10

A Romanian national suspected to be involved in a hi-tech ATM robbery in Kerala has been arrested in Mumbai, police said on Wednesday.

The suspect, whose pictures police released on Tuesday, was arrested by the Mumbai Police on Wednesday night.

The suspect, a man whose name the police have not disclosed yet, will be produced before a local court before Mumbai Police hand him over to their counterparts from Kerala. 

Kerala Police had narrow down their suspects to three foreigners and decided to seek Interpol's help after images from a closed-circuit camera showed them installing an electronic device inside an ATM kiosk of a public sector bank at Vellayambalam.

The three suspects — all from Romania — came to India on June 25.

More than 20 people had complained that money had been withdrawn from their account.

Preliminary assessment showed Rs 2.5 lakh was reported missing from various accounts, police said. 

Customers were alerted of the heist after they received a text messages on Monday informing them of money being withdrawn.

Police suspect that the electronic device at the ATM counter helped suspects steal pin code and card details. — PTI