Montevideo’s top police chief, Mario Lotito, had good news this week. He announced that a group behind a recent ATM explosion had been taken down. Just a week was all it took for police to dismantle this criminal operation.
The incident itself happened last Tuesday, August 5th, in the quiet Carrasco neighborhood. Around 5:00 in the morning, three people showed up at the bank branch. They used a stolen car to get there. These three were directly involved in the ATM explosion.
Police quickly followed leads from their investigation. This led to ten search warrants being carried out in different parts of Montevideo. Initially, eleven people were detained: nine men and two women. After questioning, three of them were released. The two women and six men are still in custody. Eight people in total remain detained, and one of them is a minor.
Most of those arrested have a history of criminal activity. Lotito noted that two of them are connected to other ATM explosions from 2020 onward. It seems this group had tried to use the stolen cash. They tried to spend the explosion-damaged bills at different stores. Luckily, their plan failed. The businesses had security measures that stopped them.
The police chief reminded everyone about a key security feature. This particular bank branch, like others across the country, has an ink-dyeing system for its bills. This means if an ATM is attacked, the money inside gets sprayed with a special ink. This makes the bills useless for spending.
During the searches, police found several important items. They seized a Fiat car that had ink stains on its back and side. This car was a big clue. They also found twenty-two cell phones and two bank cards. Other discoveries included six glass jars holding plant material, likely cannabis buds. Clothes believed to be used in various casinos were also found. Police also took one notebook and two vehicle circulation permits. All these items helped build the case against the group.