Crafty thieves use watermelon rinds to slide ATM out of store in Colombia

A group of thieves entered a drugstore in the Colombian city of Barranquilla and, after subduing a security guard, stole an automatic teller machine, using watermelon rinds to slide the cash machine out the door, police said. The thieves, who numbered at least 10, managed to empty the ATM of its cash, which they abandoned in the same truck in which they transported it from the drugstore. The police found the vehicle in a parking garage.

The authorities managed to arrest seven of the alleged thieves, who were in possession of almost 60 million pesos ($30,000). At least two of the thieves were wearing uniforms like the one of the security guard they attacked. Col. Sergio Lopez, the commander of operations for the Barranquilla Metropolitan Police, announced a reward of roughly $2,500 for information leading authorities to the rest of the band.
The police said that this is the second time that such a robbery has occurred. In 2008, in another part of the Caribbean coastal city, a group of thieves pried an ATM from its base and slid it to a vehicle also using watermelon rinds. On that occasion, the thieves absconded with about $100,000.

Source: hispanicallyspeakingnews.com