‘Two suspects arrested in ATM theft, two others at large’

AMMAN — Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of two men who allegedly stole two ATMs at a mall and a restaurant in recent weeks.

Police said a search is ongoing for two other suspects who were involved in the theft that reportedly netted the four suspects JD100,000, according to a statement issued by the Public Security Department (PSD).

The first incident occurred in an Amman mall, where the suspected robbers extracted an ATM from its base, since it was not fixed to a cement wall as is the case with other ATMs, PSD Spokesperson Maj. Amer Sartawi said.

“The robbers waited until the mall closed and took the entire machine with them,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

A few days later, the police official added, a similar robbery targeted an ATM that was placed next to a restaurant in an Amman suburb.

Sartawi noted that “it was hard for the police to find substantial evidence” leading to the suspects since the two ATMs were missing.

“We looked into our files and became suspicious of one man who is a repeat larceny offender and classified as armed and dangerous, so we decided to monitor him,” he explained.

 The PSD official said a special force raided the suspect’s home and arrested him with another suspect without any major incidents.

Upon questioning the two men, Sartawi added, police concluded that they were involved in the ATM robbery.

The fate of the stolen cash is still unclear.

“We are still investigating the incident and will refer the suspects to the concerned courts,” he said.