An ATM heist, a vanishing Creta, and a 12-km chase — Tamil Nadu police crack daring robbery in 7 hours

Once alerted, police started tracking CCTV footage to figure out where the gang’s white Creta was heading.

The car was visible at several points along the Thrissur-Coimbatore highway – until it wasn’t.

However, something else caught the attention of the investigators. In the footage where the Creta was last seen, a large container truck had now appeared out of nowhere. The timing seemed too perfect to be a coincidence.

The police began piecing together the most likely theory – that the robbers hid the Creta inside the container. This triggered an emergency alert to Tamil Nadu police, detailing the mysterious container and the missing Creta. Authorities across multiple Tamil Nadu districts were instructed to keep a close watch on the highways and to look out for the container, which was by now on the run.

According to a senior police officer who was part of the operation in Namakkal, the search stretched from Coimbatore to Krishnagiri. “Police launched thorough vehicle checks in Tirupur, Salem, Namakkal, Krishnagiri and even Dharmapuri,” the officer said.

At around 9 am, a police patrol team reported that a container truck had tried to break through a police barricade at Komarapalayam in Namakkal. The police gave chase, tracking it for 12 kilometres before finally bringing the truck to a halt. What they found inside was no surprise by now — the white Creta, along with Rs 65 lakh, and seven men.

“Five people, including the driver, were at the front cabin, while two others were inside the container with the car. They tried to attack the officers. The police had to shoot after stones were hurled at us, injuring two officers. The driver was killed and another person was shot in the leg while trying to escape. The remaining men were arrested and taken into custody. The men are from Haryana’s Palwal, part of a larger criminal network responsible for similar ATM heists across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Their tools were simple — gas cutters, spray paint, and precise planning. The container truck is registered in Rajasthan and reportedly rented out from Bangalore,” the officer said.

A forensic team soon landed at the scene, piecing together evidence from the truck. Besides fingerprints, there were traces of the gas cutter and the paint used to block ATM cameras, an officer said, detailing how well-versed the gang was in the crime.

“Similar robberies had been reported in Tiruvallur, Andhra Pradesh, and Hyderabad. The strategy was always the same. The gang would strike in the early hours, mask the surveillance cameras, and flee with the money. Sometimes they took the ATMs with them, cracking them open later in secluded areas,” an officer said.

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In fact, the Thrissur robbery bore an uncanny resemblance to a theft that took place just two months ago in Andhra Pradesh. The gang had stolen nearly Rs 30 lakh, moving in the same manner – renting container trucks, switching vehicles, and using spray paint to cover their tracks.