Swedish police arrested “several” suspects Sunday after thieves raided a cash storage unit for ATMs near Stockholm last Wednesday, making their approach to the facility and the first leg of their escape by stolen helicopter. Authorities suspect the group of bandits may include as many as ten participants. One of those arrested on Sunday is one of 552 licensed helicopter pilots in the country, according to a Swedish newspaper. The gang landed a helicopter on the roof of the cash storage facility, gained access through a window and apparently used explosives to gain access to the cash. They then loaded the helicopter with a yet undisclosed booty and departed, leaving no one wounded and, later, left the helicopter about 15 miles away. First responders to the heist were not equipped to confront heavily armed criminals and the thieves were able to leave before properly equipped authorities arrived. Critics have been quick to point out what they view as shortcomings in the police’s state of readiness, bolstered by the reason the police did not employ their own local helicopter in the operation.
The bandits apparently dissuaded the police from following them in, or intervening with, the Stockholm-area police helicopter by placing a suspicious bag close to the aircraft. The bag turned out to be something other than the bomb the police originally suspected it was. But, following the explosions at the cash storage unit, the police avoided the potential risk and instead had a helicopter flown in from Gothenburg, some 250 miles away. The police in the area have previously attempted to respond to robberies only to find their vehicles sabotaged.
