The two foreigners, who were involved in pilfering money from the ATMs of banks in several areas, including the Southern Province, tried to get away by paying millions of rupees to the investigating officers who were assigned to arrest them.
Police sources said that when the investigators confronted them, they were also asked to be part of the scheme. The sources said that the foreigners who were involved in the theft had told the investigating officers that they would transfer the knowledge of how to intercept ATM machines and take this money and that they could also make a lot of money using these sophisticated methods.
However, they were arrested by the officers of the Computer Crime Division who did not heed the instigation, and four others, including the Chief Inspector of Police who was in charge of the administrative division of the Meghathanna Police and who allegedly helped them, were also arrested.
The mastermind of this operation is a Bulgarian who holds Canadian citizenship, and his assistant is also a Canadian. By now, they have traveled to around 10 countries and stolen a lot of money by hacking the ATM machine and providing fake information.
Investigators were able to arrest them within 48 hours of handing over the investigation regarding these thefts to the Computer Crime Division of the Criminal Investigation Department.
These two criminals, an ATM machine and a car used to travel, were taken into custody. The driver of that car is the police inspector, and he is a resident of Balapitiya.
Investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department have revealed that the police officer met the other two arrested for supporting these two foreigners at a nightclub and a fitness center.
Investigations by the Computer Crime Investigation Division officials have also revealed that the two foreigners rented out a house from the Havelock City apartment complex for a monthly rental of two hundred and fifty thousand rupees and have been staying there until now.