Two members of a criminal gang involved in targeting AIB ATMs in Dublin using cash-trapping devices have been sentenced to prison, reports RTE.
A third gang member received a suspended sentence at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Codrin Manoli, aged 26 from Dundrum; Cailin Scintei, 32, from The Park, Citywest; and Marius Crisan, 29, from Ormond Way, Swords, pleaded guilty to 28 separate offences, reports RTE.
AIB reported suspicious damage to its ATMs to gardaí last July, which led to the investigation.
Over a nine-day span between 4 and 12 July last year, the gang tampered with 43 AIB ATMs across Dublin, Louth, Meath, and Kildare, reports RTE.
They installed devices into the cash slots to trap money, later returning to extract the cash using force.
The group stole more than €6,000 and inflicted over €18,000 in damage to the machines.
On 6 July alone, they targeted nine separate ATMs in Dublin, reports RTE.
Following a sting operation by gardaí from Dundrum and the National Economic Crime Bureau, three men were apprehended after taking €1,000 from an ATM in Blackrock.
Manoli, Scintei, and Crisan all entered guilty pleas following their arrests, reports RTE.
Detective Garda Emmett Cooke told the court the gang was specifically formed for these crimes.
Manoli was not connected to Ireland; Scintei had a history of fraud in the country, while Crisan was said to be the most junior member and had recently become a father, reports RTE.
Detective Garda Aoife Lewis said Crisan admitted his role in the operation, identified himself on CCTV, and admitted he drove the getaway vehicle. He also said he had a gambling issue and needed rent money.
The three men, all originally from Romania, had varying criminal histories. Crisan had none, Manoli had six convictions including ones in the UK, and Scintei had a lengthy record of 124 previous convictions, reports RTE.
Scintei had only been out of prison for eight months after serving a sentence for a similar offence when he reoffended.
Judge Orla Crowe handed Cailin Scintei a three-year prison sentence; Codrin Manoli received three years with six months suspended for two years; and Marius Crisan was given a three-year suspended sentence, reports RTE.
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