The Moroccan Mafia That Blows Up 500 ATMs a Year in Germany

 

The Moroccan Mafia That Blows Up 500 ATMs a Year in Germany

"It’s an easy way to make a lot of money if you have the right materials, and it’s happening all over Europe," laments a police spokesperson.

MARIA ZUPPELLO

May 22, 2025

Source: https://www.abc.es/internacional/mocro-mafia-marroqui-revienta-500-cajeros-ano-20250521054533-nt.html

 

By Rosalía Sánchez, Berlin Correspondent

 

It was around three in the morning when the explosion woke the residents of Grevesmühlener Street in Berlin’s Lichtenberg district. Within minutes, the first police officers arrived, but there was no trace left of the thieves who had attacked the Targo Bank branch. Bomb disposal experts followed soon after, to no avail, along with a bank technician who carried out the forensic assessment. “Parts of the ceiling were severely damaged, concrete debris and splinters covered the floor, and the ATMs had been emptied,” the technician summarized.

 

The modus operandi was painfully familiar. In Germany alone, almost one ATM is blown up every day using the same technique. “It’s an easy way to make a lot of money if you have the right materials, and it’s happening all over Europe,” said a police spokesperson. He refers to explosives such as triacetone triperoxide (TATP) or mixtures of gases and black powder.

 

It’s a well-rehearsed routine. Three masked young men approach an ATM, carrying explosives or a gas canister. They attach the explosives or drill into the machine to insert the gas. They quickly step back and, seconds later, the ATM explodes. They snatch the cash and flee in a waiting getaway car with stolen plates and custom modifications.

 

In the few cases where arrests have been made, police have seized modest-looking vehicles modified for high speeds, with additional fuel tanks connected to the main tank via hoses—allowing escapes even across borders without stopping to refuel. Before each heist, accomplices familiar with the area surveil the ATMs, cash supply routines, and escape routes. The loot is divided up by the Mocro mafia, which supplies the explosives and trains the assault teams.

 

“Mocro” is Dutch slang for “Moroccan.” It refers to a criminal organization originating from Morocco, mainly operating in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, but with branches throughout Europe. The group is involved in cocaine and hashish trafficking through strategic ports like Rotterdam and Antwerp, where it has become infamous for extreme violence, including contract killings and bombings. Initially, the gang used ATM robberies as a rite of passage for new recruits, but the profitability of these operations has turned them into a business in their own right.

 

Sometimes they use far more explosives than necessary, bringing down entire buildings. In one case, a vault wall was thrown 30 meters from inside an ATM. Police believe these tactics also serve as training for mafia members and estimate that around 500 ATMs are blown up each year in Germany.

 

The Federal Criminal Police Office recorded the highest number of such attacks in 2022, with loot totaling around €30 million—though this figure is unclear, as banks are reluctant to disclose their losses. In Berlin alone, four ATMs are blown up every week. Nearly 80% of suspects come from abroad. Last year, arrested thieves included nationals from the Netherlands (65), Germany (20), Romania (7), Morocco (6), and four each from France, Italy, and Turkey.

 

In some cases, police were able to track down suspects through lookouts. After an attack on a Postbank ATM on Clevischer Ring in Cologne-Mülheim, near Wiener Platz, surveillance footage identified several individuals who had been loitering nearby earlier, leading investigators to the perpetrators. This resulted in two arrests on Keupstraße.

 

However, police believe ATM attacks are just a fringe of the larger investigation. The experience with explosives is later used in vendettas, such as in Cologne last year, when a café and a fashion store—both fronts for laundering money for a rival gang—were blown up. This is just one of 821 criminal organizations Europol says operate across Europe, with over 25,000 members, all fighting for territorial control.

 

“We’re talking about a group whose structures have been entrenched in European countries for decades,” warns Dirk Peglow, head of the German Association of Criminal Investigators. “The propensity for violence is high in all groups, but in this one, the willingness to commit violent acts is greater,” adds Mahmoud Jaraba, of the FAU Research Center for Islam and Law in Europe. In terms of structure and business practices, “the Arab 'clans' in Germany are not so different: the key players come from a specific family, but they’re not closed groups,” he explains, adding that “without their networks inside and outside Germany and the Netherlands, they wouldn’t survive.”