A Moncton business owner has released surveillance video of an ATM heist at his restaurant in the hopes of catching the thieves responsible for the theft.
The automated teller machine was stolen from John Bastarache’s Mountain Road restaurant early Tuesday.
Investigators say the suspects broke into the restaurant around 3 a.m. and, within four minutes, had yanked the ATM, which had been anchored to the floor, out of the building using a pickup truck.
They fled the scene with the ATM and about $17,000 in cash.
“Somebody got off with a lot of money I guess,” says patron Troy Murray. “It’s too bad. You don’t want to see that stuff around here.”
Police believe the truck used in the heist was a Chevrolet Silverado from the early 2000s.
“It would have been grey or silver in colour, so if anyone has any information about the vehicle or those individuals, they’re certainly asked to contact us,” says Codiac RCMP Const. Damien Theriault.
Bastarache says he has to foot the bill because his insurance will only cover $500, but he says it’s not the loss of cash that has him angry. He believes the thieves know him and knew he had filled his ATM for the week on Monday.
“They knew exactly the day to do it so I know it’s somebody who knows us,” says Bastarache. “That hurts me more than anything, but they will have to live with it, not me.”
Bastarache says he’s putting more security in place, and his new ATM won’t be loaded with cash. He is also suggesting other businesses do the same.
“No matter how safe they think they feel with their ATMs or the location of their ATM, they better not leave any money in it because all that does is entice them into doing exactly what they did to me,” he says.
He hopes releasing the video of the heist will help identify the thieves and lead to their arrest.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Sarah Plowman
