Thiruvananthapuram: Police arrests Romanian ATM thief from Nicaragua

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city police on Saturday recorded the arrest of a Romanian national who was handed over to them in Nicaragua by the Interpol in connection with an ATM theft at an SBT ATM at Althara here in July 2016. The accused, identified as Ianut Alexander Marino, 28, of Craiova, Romania, was brought to the Museum police station on Saturday. He was one of the five foreign nationals accused in the case. One of them, Illie Marian Gabrielle, was arrested in Mumbai weeks after the theft.

"The Kerala police has spotted two more accused in the case in Germany and the UK. We will also try for their extradition to India. The fifth accused is absconding," said state police chief Loknath Behera. Mr Behera said that the state police will ensure the extradition of more suspects who are hiding in foreign countries. A special cell has been formed under IG crimes for the purpose. "Even in cases where extradition treaties do not exist, we will be able to secure the custody of the accused on a case-to-case basis. We have prepared a list of the recent grave crimes" Mr Behera said.

"Now we have learnt how to get such quick extraditions. Even if we fail to bring the other accused back to the country, we can make arrangements to try them in those countries," he added. The ATM theft in Thiruvananthapuram was the first of its kind in the country, as it involved rigging the ATM machines. The accused stole around Rs 4.5 lakh using a combination of rigging devices and wireless cameras that captured the ATM pin entered by the victims. The suspects were caught in a security camera and were identified by staffers of various hotels in Thiruvananthapuram.

The city police first issued a lookout notice and contacted Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. The Interpol had listed them as suspects in their records for cybercrime "In Nicaragua, their Supreme Court was convinced about the crime and gave a nod for extradition," said superintendent of police K.E. Baiju who led the probe team. Three more suspects, including Christian Constantine and Bogdean Floriam Floreci, were absconding. Mr Baiju, who had led the probe in his capacity as cantonment assistant police commissioner, has received accolades from the state police as well as independent cybersecurity agencies.