Police caught three people at a hotel in northern Finland who are suspected of blowing a bank’s automated teller machine (ATM) off a grocery store wall early Thursday.
That afternoon, the foreign trio was tracked to a hotel in Kempele, near Oulu. They were found to be in possession of nearly all the cash stolen from the bank.
Police detained them on suspicion of aggravated theft and explosives offences.
Around 3.30am on Thursday, the ATM was blown off the wall of the Tervaportti K-Market in the centre of Vaala, southwest of Oulu in North Ostrobothnia.
Police suspect that the trio took the money from the ATM and fled the scene. No injuries were reported in the blast.
The store was closed on Thursday morning due to the crime scene investigation. It reopened at 10:15 a.m.
Heavily-equipped police operation
Later that day, authorities mounted a search operation in Kempele, which aroused attention as the officers were equipped with heavy gear.
According to police, the suspects were quickly tracked down, less than 100km from the crime scene. Almost all the money stolen from the ATM was recovered.
Oulu daily Kaleva was first to report that the search and detentions were related to the explosion of the Vaala ATM.
Police describe the case as a cross-border crime. The suspects are all citizens of another EU country. Police will ask Oulu District Court to remand them in custody next week.
In 2022, two ATMs were ripped from walls by criminals using a bucket loader.