澳洲ATM爆窃越打越猖獗，今晨北雪梨两台ATM又成牺牲品 天外飞砖2009-04-23 01:14:18
Bandits blow up twin ATMs in North Sydney
- Glenda Kwek
- April 23, 2009 - 8:26AM
Another ATM was blown up this morning, this time in North Sydney. Photo: Nick Moir
Bandits have escaped with cash after blowing up two ATMs in North Sydney, the third attack in eight days.
Police said they were called to Miller Street in Sydney's northern CBD about 2.15am after a Westpac building's alarms went off.
They found major damage to the glass building, with two ATMs in the front window destroyed. The attackers escaped with some cash, police said.
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A Herald photographer on Miller Street said the side of the building was blown out and it was the most powerful ATM blast he had seen.
Witnesses told police that a few men were running south on Berry Street after the explosion and left in a late-model red Holden HSV sedan that had a loud exhaust and rear spoiler.
Detectives from Harbourside Local Area Command, Strike Force Piccadilly II and the Police Rescue Squad were investigating the theft.
Miller Street is closed to traffic and pedestrians walking between Berry Street and Pacific Highway, and some buses, would be diverted. Police could not say when the street would open again.
Police advised anyone who sees a suspicious-looking red Holden HSV sedan not to approach it, but to call triple-0.
Anyone with information about the explosion was asked to phone Harbourside Local Area Command or Strike Force Piccadilly II detectives via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The blast follows a string of gas attacks on teller machines in NSW and other states over the past few months.
- Just two days ago, two Westpac ATMs were attacked at a shopping complex in Erina.
- One week ago, bandits struck a National Australia Bank in Lane Cove. In both explosions, no money was taken and no one was injured.
- On February 11, a bank and buildings around it were seriously damaged after an ATM blast at a shopping centre on Mona Vale Road, St Ives.
- On February 4, masked bandits escaped with cash after an ATM was blown up at Military Road in Neutral Bay.
- There were 25 ATM blasts in NSW last year, in which millions of dollars were stolen, police said. But they said most of the explosions were unsuccessful.
- On February 20, detectives from the task force arrested two men outside a bank on The Boulevarde at Punchbowl in Sydney's south-west about 3.30am.
They seized a BMW they suspected was stolen, and gas cylinders. But a third man evaded the arrests and was seen running through Punchbowl train station a short time later.
The gas attacks involve feeding gas into ATMs, usually using gas cylinders. The method, called "plofkraak", was devised in the Netherlands, and has migrated across continents to Australia.
The Australian Banking Association said banks were considering installing dye packs and gas detection systems in ATMs in a bid to thwart the attacks.
ATM manufacturer NCR said such ink-staining technologies would render the cash useless and help catch the bandits.
"The rationale behind the ink-staining solution is that, with enough time and determination and the right tools, every security measure and safe can eventually be breached," Phil Chant of NCR, the world's leading ATM manufacturer, said.
"So our approach is, if you are going to get inside the safe, then we will render the cash worthless by the time you get it.
"That has proven successful in relation to ram-raids and we now make that ink-staining solution linked to gas detection technology."
Strike Force Piccadilly II, which investigated the ATM ram-raid attacks a few years ago, was reformed to investigate the explosions, with rewards of up to $150,000 for information leading to a conviction.
Detective Inspector Greg Antonjuk from the task force said public safety was its No.1 concern.
"The recent ATM attacks have the potential to be dangerous to both passers-by, as well as to offenders," he said in a statement.