Thieves steal Sh11m from three Barclays Bank ATMs in Nairobi

There was a crisis in Nairobi when officials discovered three Barclays Bank ATMs had been breached and at least Sh11 million stolen.

Suspected thugs managed to steal money from ATMs at Buruburu, Kenyatta National Hospital and South B.

The incidents happened on Saturday at almost the same time in what officials suspect to be an inside job.

The first incident happened in Buruburu’s Mutindwa ATM dispenser where G4S personnel had on April 18 loaded Sh7 million for the weekend.

On April 20, the personnel were informed the machine was not working. When they arrived there they discovered Sh6.2 million had been stolen.

The thugs behind the incident managed to escape undetected and no arrest has been made so far.

Police said they discovered the machine was not manned by any guard at the time of the incident. There were no CCTV cameras at the site too.

At KNH branch, the thugs managed to escape with Sh4.3 million after they had electronically tampered with the machine.

Police were called and informed on the incident and rushed there only to realize the money was missing. Kilimani police boss Michael Muchiri said they suspect the theft happened on April 19 at about 9pm.

No arrest has been made so far, Muchiri said.

At the Mater Hospital, South B branch, the thugs smeared the CCTV cameras with petroleum jelly to obstruct detection.

There, the gang grabbed Sh1 million from the dispenser and escaped undetected.

Police who visited the scene said a logistics manager was sent to service the machines when he discovered the money missing.

Nairobi police boss Philip Ndolo said they are working with the bank to establish how the theft happened.

The ATMs were not working yesterday. An official at the bank said they had taken measures to contain further breaches.

Other officials said the officials of the logistics company handling the ATMs had been summoned for questioning.