Police believe that the gang behind the Barclays bank ATM theft aren’t isolated individuals acting in an opportunistic way but rather was an organised and coordinated campaign to steal large amounts of cash from the ATMs.
The brazen ATM bandits dodged the police while pulling off 4 heists across the city and netting hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It is still not yet clear whether the suspect’s used PIN codes or any software to access the money or bank information.
At Mutindwa, Nairobi, where Sh6,290,000 was stolen at an unspecified time, it is alleged that G4S officer by the name George Ogiro received a call from Barclays Bank that the ATM was not operating. The machine had been loaded with Sh7 million on Thursday but on Saturday, Sh6,290,000 was found missing.
“The scene was visited and it was established that the ATM is not covered by CCTV cameras. The machine was not manned by any guard,” stated a report from Buruburu Police Station, where the incident was reported.
The second incident was reported to have taken place at the Mater Hospital ATM at 7.30am and was also reported by a G4S officer at the Industrial Area Police Station by Nickson Oluoch.
The officer said in the report that a sum of Sh1 million had been withdrawn
The incident was reported on Saturday and according to the report, the money was ‘erroneously’ withdrawn by ‘unknown’ people. The officers had been sent by their logistics manager to service the machine when they discovered that the machine had been tampered with.
“The CCTV camera at the same point was found smeared with petroleum jelly to obstruct the view,” stated the report.
At the Kenyatta National Hospital ATM where some Sh4.315 million was stolen the same day and reported by Mr Wilson Mzedi, also a staff at G4S. The ATM had been tampered with, “they got a report from the Kenyatta National Hospital Barclays Bank ATM system that it was not working,” states a report from the Capitol Hill Police Station, adding that the incident may have occurred at 9pm on Friday.
A fourth ATM machine was broken into at Kenya Cinema, which police say it did not receive a report about. Speaking to Nation, Nairobi Central Sub-County Police Commander Peter Atavachi said he had not received a report.
The bank confirmed the theft but did not say the stolen amount.
In a statement, Barclays Bank said it was working with investigative authorities to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book.