RCMP warn business owners after spike in ATM thefts in and around Calgary

Following a series of ATM thefts in southern Alberta, RCMP has asked for help in identifying a thief after the latest incident: an ATM was stolen from a gas station in Crossfield, Alta., on Monday this week.
Video showed a man smashing the front door’s window and walking into the station. The suspect tied ropes to the ATM, connected it to his van and drove away. “If you look at the surveillance video, it was unbelievable when the van pulled away,” said Cpl. Gina Slaney. “It pulled out all the shelves, the front desk and the front doors. There’s a significant amount of damage.”
Meanwhile, on Jan. 4 at 3:40 a.m., police responded to an attempted theft in Airdrie after an alarm went off at a Shell gas station.
A stolen black Ford pickup truck backed up to the front door and smashed the glass, Slaney said.
With seven investigations — two in Airdrie and five in surrounding areas — underway, ATM thefts have become more common as of late, Slaney said. “Calgary area are investigating numerous thefts of this type,” she said. “The areas surrounding Calgary, as well, some of those communities have been hit with similar incidents. Our southern Alberta district crime reduction team has just been assigned — as of this morning, actually — to investigate all of these to see if we can link these crimes. Some incidents may be related, but we don’t believe at this time that all of them are from the same offenders.”