Retail NI has strongly condemned the ATM robbery that took place at a Spar store in a forecourt in Aughnacloy, County Tyrone.
The robbery happened at 6.40am on Wednesday (8 October) outside the service station store as the cash machine was being filled with money.
The amount of money stolen is believed to be more than £1m, the BBC reported.
Commenting on the incident, Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said, “This disgraceful robbery is utterly unacceptable and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.
Attacks like these are directly contributing to the decline in ATM availability in local communities and are restricting access to cash — particularly for those on benefits and others who rely on cash for daily transactions.
We urge anyone with information about this attack to contact the police immediately.”
The robbery was carried out by a gang wearing boiler suits and masks, with suspected firearms, threatening the security staff who had been dealing with the cashpoint outside the Spar on Caledon Road.
The men, who were armed with suspected firearms, ordered staff into the cash machine bunker while they removed boxes of money from their security van.
Police said the men made off in a dark-coloured Audi Q7 with a significant sum of money. No-one was injured.
Reports have suggested that the robbers might have got away with £1m from the machine and the security van used to transport cash.
The gang escaped in the direction of Armagh in a dark-coloured Audi Q7 and reports suggest they might have fled over the border to the Republic of Ireland. The PSNI are working with Irish police on the investigation.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detectives investigating the robbery have appealed for witnesses and anyone with dashcam footage to get in touch.