A difficult year for the Plofkraker

In 2024, there was a record number of cases of ATMs being blown up. At the same time, there were also several major successes. Handcuffs clicked round one pair of wrists after another as months of investigations led to arrests in France and Switzerland.

After subsiding somewhat in 2023, the number of attacks on ATMs in Switzerland begin climbing again in early 2024. In particular, attacks involving the use of explosives become more frequent, first in southern Germany, then in the Swiss Jura and finally in France, the number of attacks reaching an all-time high. The perpetrators? A group of disturbingly young Dutchmen.

Another group known to fedpol, with closer links to the Moroccan Mafia, is also emerging from the shadows. The group had already gained notoriety in Switzerland’s northwestern region in 2020 and 2021, when it blew up several ATMs. In late 2021, individual members were arrested in France.

One thing the two groups have in common is that they are both highly professional and well prepared. The Dutch group, also known as the Plofkraker (a combination of the words plof which means explosion and krak which means break-in or robbery), spend a long time in the target area before making their move, checking escape routes and scouting out the ATMs. They rent apartments and hotel rooms on popular websites to use as safe houses, leaving nothing to chance. And they strike at night.

It is more than 700 kilometres from Switzerland to the Netherlands, an 8.5-hour trip if all goes well. The perpetrators prepare well for this long escape route: as a rule, they flee directly from the scene of the crime on an electric scooter or kick scooter. They then transfer to a much more powerful vehicle, stowing petrol cans in the boot so that they can make a straight getaway to the Netherlands without stopping. They usually rent the vehicles used for their crimes from shady firms abroad or in Switzerland, and they usually pay in cash. However, not everything always goes to plan: some gang members have had accidents in both Germany and Switzerland. In such cases, the getaway vehicle is left behind, along with potentially useful clues for investigators.

Investigation, observation and capture!

Thanks to intensive information sharing between fedpol and the French, German and Dutch authorities, the noose began to tighten around the first group, which focuses on the border region where Germany, France and Switzerland meet. Between 6 and 9 September, the French authorities arrested 13 people, including logisticians, scouts, drivers and blast operators.

Three months later, the noose tightened around the second group as well: thanks to highly resource-intensive investigations and cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, the Basel-Stadt public prosecutor’s office and the Bern Cantonal Police, the group had been under observation as they went about their activities. On 13 December, four suspects were arrested in the Lucerne area. Packages of explosives and Cobra 6 firecrackers were also found in a rented apartment in the Bernese Oberland.

By 2024, the party was over for some of the Plofkraker. Important lessons for future arrests have been learned from successful operations like these. The story continues…

‘While successful investigations are important, experience from abroad shows that ATM attacks cannot be countered with law enforcement measures alone. We have to work with the banks to ensure that there is no point in attempting these attacks to begin with…’

Cristian*, federal investigator

* Name changed