Police in India are searching for a mastermind who allegedly trains unemployed youths to rob ATMs.
The suspect, Sudhir Mishra, reportedly created a criminal organization in which he recruits unemployed youth from across India and trains them to break into ATMs within 15 minutes, the India Times reported in late April. (RELATED: Police Warn Bank Customers After Wave Of ‘Jugging’ Thefts In Texas)
The outlet reported that authorities discovered the criminal enterprise after youths were arrested for allegedly trying to steal an amount of Indian rupees equivalent to almost $50,000 U.S. dollars from an ATM. Cops have since recovered around $11,000 U.S. dollars from the thieves and are now searching for Mishra, who is also known as “ATM Baba.”
Police in the area have been scanning through CCTV footage, mobile data and toll booth tracking information in order to trace the steps of the scheme’s purported mastermind, according to Mirror Now.
One police officer claimed that Mishra could have allegedly escaped the scene of an ATM robbery in a car that a CCTV camera captured, the outlet reported.
According to the India Times, police officer Shailendra Giri said Mishra trained the youths to rob ATMs by spraying “misty liquid on the glass walls of the ATM booth and at the cameras to hide their identities and cut through ATMs cash box and escape within 15 minutes.”
The outlet also reported that the training takes around three months, including a 15-day live demonstration. Those who completed the demonstration were then sent to the “field.”
According to the Times of India, there have been around 30 cases of alleged ATM theft committed by these youths, and police continue to search for Mishra.