ATM robbery: Arrested Romanian sent in police custody till Aug 22

Thiruvananthapuram: A Romanian national arrested on charge of fraudulent withdrawal of money from ATMs in the state capital was on Friday sent to police custody till August 22 by a court here.

Accused Gabriel Marian was earlier brought here on Thursday evening from Mumbai, where he was arrested on Tuesday.

According to the police, Marian is part of a gang operating from Romania. Around Rs 2.50 lakh of people who operated State Bank of India ATM cards in the heart of Thiruvanthapuram were siphoned off by the accused through electronic tampering at an ATM here.

Police said Marian has admitted to his crime.

The gang first visited the city in January while looking for ATM kiosks with no surveillance.

Police said three accomplices of Marian have since left India though enforcement agencies have been alerted about another gang member who is still in the country.

The police is also probing if any local helped out the gang members.

Marian was arrested by Mumbai police on Tuesday when he was withdrawing money from an ATM in the Station Plaza.

Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra told reporters at Kochi on Friday that the modus operandi of the gang would be revealed in three days.