In Austria, four people were arrested after a number of thuds on ATMs. Three of them come from the Netherlands. It is a 32-year-old man from Den Bosch, a 28-year-old Amsterdammer and a 25-year-old woman from Hoofddorp. They would have received help from German henchmen.
The case came rolling last September when investigators of the East Brabant police saw a car that was registered as stolen. It was about Audi RS6. After investigation, the police arrived at the male suspects arrested in Austria. The Brabant investigators shared this with colleagues in Austria.
After the arrest of the suspects, their homes were found in the Netherlands. There are two cars, ammunition, 16,500 euros in cash, GPS trackers and ‘other evidence’, the Public Prosecution Service in Austria and the European Police Service Europol report.
The results of last week’s operation were released on Monday. According to the police, the investigation is still in full swing.
‘Very reckless’
Austria has been struggling for some time with a series of explosions at bank branches and ATMs, just like the Netherlands and Germany earlier.
According to Austria, the perpetrators are ‘particularly reckless’ and their working method is ‘very dangerous for third parties’. It is not known whether the four suspects will come from the Netherlands.
The most recent thud was last Tuesday in the village of Hofkirchen im Traunkreis, south of the city of Linz. A few hours later the four suspects were arrested, after a manhunt by special units. Two of them would have been involved in the explosions themselves, the two others would have helped. It is not yet clear which other thuds they are suspected of.
According to the Austrian authorities, a total of 42 people are now in the picture for the series of thuds. Nineteen of them have been arrested. A total of 26 buildings have been searched, including ten in the Netherlands.