Newtownbutler ATM robbery

There has been an upsurge in robberies and crime in the Border Counties in the past couple of weeks, including a robbery at the Ulster Bank in Cootehill. A digger was used to remove an ATM machine from the wall of a supermarket at Clones Road, Newtownbutler on Friday night and the ATM was then put into a trailer and taken from the scene by the raiders. They also set fire to the digger before hitting the road in a white pick-up vehicle. It is believed that around £80,000 sterling was taken in the raid which was captured on CCTV. Three men, believed to be from the Newbliss area were arrested on Sunday for questioning in connection with the ATM raid in Newtownbutler and were subsequently released on Monday night and it is anticipated that a file will be prepared for the DPP. They were questioned at Monaghan Garda station. A white tipper pick up truck which is believed to have been used in the Newtownbutler raid, was also located in a search by gardai on an isolated farm in the Newbliss area. There were ongoing searches with a view to locating the ATM machine. Families in Newtownbutler were fearful for their lives when the digger was put on fire beside the petrol pumps, as they feared the flames could lead to an explosion. The three men wearing balaclavas appeared calm and were totally focused on grabbing the ATM machine out of the wall in the bucket of the digger, which then tipped it into the trailer of the pick-up. Neighbours watched the extraordinary scenes shortly after 4.30am on Saturday morning for a total of 10 minutes as the raid took place. Eye witnesses described the men as well built and athletic and they were carrying out the raid with a sense of calm and purpose but with no haste. Firefighters and two ambulances arrived at the scene within 15 minutes but the police did not call to the scene till 4.30pm, 12 hours after the first call for help was made. Witnesses said that four or five calls were made to the police and one of those was from a person who had seen the gang steal the digger from a nearby play park. People in the area and the owner of the Supermarket, Declan McCabe said they were very concerned at how police had handled the situation, and particularly their slow response time. Police later defended their response times, citing dissident republican activity in the area. The District Commander, Chief Inspector Graham Dodds said 'this robbery has been treated as a serious incident from the outset and extra resources were allocated to the investigation. 'Unfortunately policing in this area is being delivered against the backdrop of a significant threat from dissident republicans, so we have to be cautious in our approach to some crime scenes to ensure officer safety. 'We attended the scene of this crime around 4.30pm as soon as it was deemed safe to do so'. The Police are appealing to anybody with information to contact them. Money stolen in Glangevlin Then on Saturday a gang believed to be made up of Non Irish Nationals made off with a substantial amount of money from a car parked outside the Post Office in Glangevlin. The gang made up of two men and three women went into the Post Office and endeavoured to distract the staff member shortly after 1pm but did not take anything from the Post Office, despite rummaging around. When the group left the Post Office they proceeded to steal a substantial sum of money from a car parked outside. The group of five people were travelling in a gold coloured Laguna car and there were two other adults in the car which headed in the Drumshanbo direction. Any information to the Gardai at Ballyconnell. Thieves also broke into the Keep Fit Gym at the Belturbet Rory O"Moore"s pitch in the early hours of last Wednesday morning. Amongst the items they took were dumb bells, a punch bag and a television and energy supplements. Any information to the gardai in Belturbet.