Ghaziabad: On November 29, a gang was taken into custody by Ghaziabad police for allegedly using a malware-infected USB drive to loot ATMs. All the accused were questioned and one of them said that they were apprehended by the crime branch 3 months back. The accused claimed that the SWAT in Noida let them go. The Noida police launched a probe. It was led by Abhishek Singh, DCP crime branch. After the probe, SWAT inspector Shavez Khan and constable Amrish Yadav were suspended by police commissioner Alok Singh on November 30th.
Over 200 ATM thefts were committed by the gang in the past 5 years, according to the cops. The names of the accused are Zameer Sheikh, Sehnwaz, Mohammad Umar, Mehraj and Sagir. Another alleged member Kamal is missing. He would conduct his operations from Hyderabad. The police said that one person would enter the ATM and another was the one keeping an eye on what was going on outside. A USB drive transferred Malware into the ATM machine. Then the system is rebooted and delinked from the main server. A code is generated with another member converted into a password. The gang member inside the ATM uses it to take out the cash. Then they would flee.
In a similar incident, Mancherial Police nabbed people for allegedly stealing Rs 50 lakh from ATMs by malfunctioning them on a temporary basis. Police said 3 of them were from the Nuh district and one from Haryana. The accused are Robin Khan, Harish, Sahib, and Ejaj Ahmed Khan They took flights to different places and withdrew money from the ATMs. A key from abroad was supposedly used to open the ATM’s upper part.