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Thieves dug a 100ft tunnel under a building to get at the cash machine at Blockbuster in Fallowfield Shopping Precinct in Manchester |
Police believe the theft occurred some time between 5.30pm on Monday January 2 and Tuesday January 3 at the Blockbuster in Fallowfield shopping precinct in Levenshulme, Manchester. They refused to reveal how much money had been taken, but said the gang only got away with “limited funds”. The cash machine can hold up to £20,000 but it is believed the gang got away with just £6,000.
Detective Sergeant Ian Shore, from Longsight CID, said: ”In all my years of service, I have never seen anything quite as elaborate as this. These people had obviously spent a long time plotting this crime and I doubt they would have been able to keep their plans secret for all that time, without telling others about their scheme. ‘They must also have spent a lot of time in the area over the past few months, which people may have noticed. ‘The financial detriment to the victim could have been a lot worse, and the offenders did not get away with as much money as I believe they may have originally hoped. The machine had limited funds available.”
The tunnel was dug directly underneath the cash machine, where the offenders then used machinery to cut through the concrete above to steal money from the ATM. The thieves then made their getaway back down the tunnel.