Four weeks ago, Belizeans were stunned when surveillance footage showed thieves using a vehicle to pull an ATM from where it was bolted onto the wall and floor. It was a brazen heist, and the second Heritage Bank ATM to be targeted within a year.
And early this morning, the third one was stolen in a similar fashion. This one was also captured by surveillance cameras. Courtney Menzies viewed the footage and has this story.
The van you see in this surveillance video has a chain attached to it, and the other end is looped around an ATM - yes, the entire machine.
And it didn't take much for the vehicle to rip the ATM out of its place.
This daring robbery happened at 4 this morning at the Heritage Bank location next to U Mall in Ladyville. And up until earlier today, the door was still hanging from its hinges, and the ATM was still missing.
Inside the small room were the pieces of the machine that had been broken during the heist, but last night, those parts were left outside as the robbers sped off.
The rest of the surveillance footage shows them lifting the machine into the back of the van.
But it couldn't have been long before they realized the ATM was empty, with not a single dollar inside. And maybe that's why they dashed it in these bushes not far from the scene of the crime.
This morning, police loaded what remained of the destroyed machine onto the truck and carted it away.
But while they found the ATM, they still have not made any arrests - just like in the case of the previous Heritage ATM that was stolen in a similar fashion only four weeks ago.
And just like in that case, this machine went down with a bang, but no security or police officer was around to catch the culprits.
But is this a case of a copycat, or the same team of ATM thieves? And why are they going after Heritage Bank ATMs?
Today, the Managing Director declined comment, except to emphasize that the machine had no money, and that they are looking into more security measures.
Last December, a Belize Bank ATM was stolen in Corozal at Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico.
