14 DAY TRIAL // Russian authorities have dismantled a Moscow-based gang of burglars, who were using balloons to obstruct the view of security cameras, while breaking into ATMs.
The case was investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and the arrests were performed with assistance from the Moscow Police.
The gang was composed from three men and two women. Two of the men, Roman Schlesser and Jaroslav Senchak, both 27, are from the city of Ukhta, Komi Republic.
The third man, Konstantin Lvov, 35, is from Moscow. The women, which haven't been detained, are from Ukhta and Republic of Moldova, respectively.
According to the authorities, the gang is responsible for stealing over 47 million rubles ($1.5 million) from 13 ATMs around Moscow.
Lenta.Ru reports that on 20 August 2009, the burglars stole half a million rubles and five thousand dollars from an ATM on Garden Chernogryazskaya street, and on 13 September the same year, they walked away with five million rubles from an ATM in Vernadsky Prospekt.
The suspects arrived at the chosen targets in a luxury Mercedes S-Class armed with specially designed locksmithing tools and balloons.
It took them one minute, on average, to obstruct the view of surveillance cameras, crack open the ATMs and extract the cash. Meanwhile, the women stood on the lookout for police.
The burglars were living in an expensive apartment located in a top Moscow residential area. When raiding it, police recovered tools adapted from surgical instruments and a fake passport with Schlesser's picture.
Two cars used by the suspects, including the Mercedes used in the burglaries, were also seized. The authorities are following up on additional leads and believe the gang might have been involved in similar crimes across the country since as far back as 2005.
