TOKYO -- Japan's National Police Agency asked construction firms and others who own or operate heavy machinery to keep watch to prevent such equipment from being stolen for use in thefts from ATMs, according to a report in the Kyodo News.
Forty such thefts were reported in the first 10 months of 2002, with the amount of cash stolen coming to 177 million yen ($1.4 million U.S.), compared with just six cases in the same period last year, the agency said.
The agency requested 15 industry organizations, including the Associated General Constructors of Japan, to step up watch on machinery at construction sites and to equip their machinery with immobilizing devices to prevent machinery thefts, as well as global positioning system devices to help locate stolen equipment.
On Dec. 5, police in Kanagawa Prefecture said an ATM installed outside a supermarket in the city of Ebina was uprooted with a power shovel and 23 million yen ($183,184 U.S.) in cash stolen. The incident took place at around 3:55 a.m., they said.
The agency also said the police are investigating 34 cases of heavy construction machinery being stolen and illegally exported in the January-October period, up by 19 from the first 10 months of 2001.
