Portugal’s Judicial Police have arrested 17 people on suspicion of blowing up cash machines.
The police launched an operation on Tuesday morning to arrest the gang members, "In the course of the operation, seventeen suspects of various nationalities, aged between 22 and 61, were arrested, some with a background of violent crime, relevant evidence was seized as well including several vehicles, motorcycles and numerous items of evidence."
The operation involved 44 home searches, according to the District Attorney General of Lisbon and the detainees will be presented to the court on Wednesday afternoon.
Those arrested are suspected of being part of a criminal gang which has been involved since 2014 in the theft of money from ATM terminals after blowing them up, causing extensive damage, and in subsequent money laundering.
The Judicial Police said the gang operated from the Greater Lisbon and Setúbal peninsula areas.
