9 held in Netherlands, Belgium over German ATM explosions

Nine men suspected of involvement in blowing up dozens of cash machines in Germany and stealing some 5.2 million euros (nearly $5.7 million) have been arrested in the Netherlands and Belgium, German authorities said Thursday.

The arrests were made during raids on 16 properties in the two neighboring countries on Monday, prosecutors and police in the southern German states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg said.

The suspects are aged between 25 and 41 and are Dutch, Moroccan, Afghan, Turkish and Romanian nationals resident in the Netherlands or Belgium, authorities said. German prosecutors are seeking their extradition. Investigators are still looking for another three suspected accomplices.

The 52 explosions at cash machines in Germany, all but one of them in the two southern states, started in November 2021 and continued until Jan. 19. They took place mostly deep in the night.

The perpetrators caused damage estimated at more than 6.7 million euros, more than the total value of the cash they stole by blowing up the machines that contained it.