Secrets of some Sydney ATM bamraiders have been revealed in surveillance video showing them blowing an ATM machine to bits.
The bandits then bashed their way into the bank with a sledgehammer to retrieve the cash.
Documentingreality.com obtained exclusive CCTV footage of a raid at North Ryde, Sydney on October 24, showing how gangs are setting off dangerous gas explosions to bust open ATMs in a matter of minutes.
Illustrating for the first time the speed of the raids and the damage they inflict, the footage shows two thieves carrying two gas cylinders to the ATM, at the Bendigo Bank in Cox's Rd.
A third arrives to help set up the explosion as one of the men carries a detonator around the corner.
A fuse is then laid from the ATM to the detonator.
The bandits pump gas - believed to be oxy-acetylene - into the ATM's money slot using hoses before retreating to the detonator. The set-up takes less than two minutes.
The force of the blast tosses glass, metal and plastic debris onto the road.
Two of the thieves run back to the machine and attempt to pull the shattered ATM casing from the wall.
When that fails, one of the men tries to kick through the bank's door.
Another arrives carrying a sledgehammer, which is used to smash through the bank's glass front.
All 3 men enter the bank and emerge carrying what is believed to be cash from the ATM.
The bandits run from the ATM to the car and back again a number of times, gathering equipment and an unknown amount of cash.
The raid ends when the men run towards a car to make their getaway.
Police arrived on the scene just 3 minutes after the explosion.
They immediately established a crime scene while a police car gave chase to the thieves, who escaped in a silver BMW sedan.
Officers pursued the bandits before calling off the chase because of safety concerns.
Security experts and police say thieves are using the explosions because of heightened ATM security measures.
It is believed thieves have copied the technique from Europe, where explosive attacks have become increasingly common in the past 3 years.
Police have warned that the attacks put the public at risk because of the extreme volatility of the explosions.
