For third time this week, a piece of heavy equipment was used to break into a metro region business in an attempt to steal an ATM machine.
The latest smash and grab took place early Friday morning at the new Scotiabank branch in Manuels, Conception Bay South where a privately-owned excavator parked at an adjacent commercial construction project was used.
The overhang of the drive-thru ATM was pulled off the building using the excavator’s fork.
The theft was unsuccessful, however, as it appears a hydraulic line on the equipment broke during the robbery attempt. As a result, hydraulic fluid spread across the parking lot and over the side of a nearby embankment.
Crews repaired the broken fluid line and used five buckets of fluid to get the machine going again and move it out of the bank’s parking lot.
Newfoundland Power crews were also brought in to cut power to the building as the excavator’s arm broke a number of lines from the utility pole in the lot.
The bank is expected to be closed for the day.
Similar crimes occurred at the TD Bank branch on Elizabeth Avenue early Sunday morning and at the Sobeys on Kelsey Drive on Monday morning.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is investigating both. Anyone with information is asked to contact the RNC (709) 729-8000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Information can also be provided anonymously on the NL Crime Stoppers Website at nlcrimestoppers.com.
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