Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Security authorities in the Kingdom were successful in busting four gangs involved in robbing banks and ATM machines a total of more than SR10 million, Al-Riyadh daily reported. One of the gangs consisted of five brothers who had dreams of leading a luxurious and resorted to robbing banks to make money. Security bodies found a large amount of money and weapons in the house they rented. The gang also used the money for purchasing many properties, herds of camels and sheep and vehicles. Three of the brothers were found to have previous crime records for drug dealing, robberies and immoral activities, while one of them was found to be a security guard who had quit his job and joined his brothers. Security bodies also arrested a citizen who robbed a team of bank employees while they were feeding an ATM machine. As the employees were preparing open the ATM machine to deposit the money, a car stopped by and a man carrying a gun approached them, threatened them with his gun and drove away with the bag containing SR1.3 million. Furthermore, security bodies have also arrested a gang of five robbers who pulled out an ATM machine, loaded it on a truck and drove away. They then forced open the machine and stole more than SR1.3 million it contained. The previous head of the crime research department at the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Sultan Al-Anqari, has warned against an increasing trend of bank and ATM robberies. He explained that most of such robberies are conducted by individual young men who are not part of any organized groups. "These robberies cannot be considered organized crime but are carried out by young people. They are not skilled in planning for such crimes, which makes it easy for security bodies to track down and arrest them," he added. The speedy arrests of such criminals point to the high expertise and training of Saudi security personnel who use the most advanced technology to track down and arrest suspected criminals. "The minister of interior has provided security bodies with unlimited support to combat crimes and this had led to security bodies effectively fighting crimes," he added.
Al-Anqari noted that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) is responsible for providing protection for transporting huge amounts of money. He believes that all armored cars should be accompanied by other security vehicles, where armed guards can provide protection, if necessary. The armed guards in their vehicles can pursue robbers by coordinating their efforts with the police, he added. Al-Anqari believes that employees entrusted with transferring money should be scrutinized, as some of them may be colluding with criminals by providing them with information of the armored cars' route. Maj. Gen. Khedr Al-Zahrani, a former public security official, said such crimes have witnessed an increase due to a lack of proper precautions by banks. He added that the Kingdom is witnessing such robberies like any other country. The economic situation and excess free time of unemployed young men has also led to an increase in financial crimes. He explained that security bodies take precautionary steps by carefully assigning areas where ATM machines may be placed and that employees entrusted with transporting money are scrutinized. Emir of Riyadh Province Prince Khalid Bin Bandar praised the police and security officials for their continuous effort to combat crime.
