ATM robberies: Inside job eyed

Operatives of the Central Police District are eyeing the possible involvement of an inside job in the series of robberies on automated teller machines (ATMs) of the East West Bank over the last two days in Quezon City.

According to Senior Inspector Rodolfo Jaraza, CPD-Central Investigation Unit Chief, probers are not discounting the possibility that certain bank personnel could be involved. He cited the alleged lack of security guards assigned at bank’s ATM machines during the night shift.

Jaraza said that they were compelled to conduct a more extensive investigation after another East West Bank ATM machine located at Commonwealth Avenue was robbed by unidentified men early yesterday morning.

This was the fourth attempted or successful robbery on the ATM machine of the said bank. Three other ATM branches of East West were also robbed during the last two days.

CPD elements have yet to determine the amount taken during the series of robberies, but sources said that it could have been "hundreds of thousands of pesos."

"This could very well be an inside job, but we are still looking at different angles. It is quite puzzling why this group decided to hit on the East West branches. Maybe because they found it easy to rob because of lack of security," Jaraza said.

He added that the robbers used special tools in breaking open the machines, because "it is not that simple to crack open an automated teller machine." – Matthew Estabillo