Thieves recently used a DJI Mini to steal 150,000 Euros (about $147,000) from an ATM in the city of Reims, France.
To pull the theft off, they forced open a covering on a ventilation shaft, then flew the drone through it and into a technical room that controlled the ATM.
Before flying into the technical room, they stuck a telescopic stick outfitted with a mirror into the room in order to visualize the location of the button that needed to be pressed to open the ATM.
After locating the button, they flew the drone inside and pressed it, opening the ATM from the inside. Once the ATM was open the thieves removed all of the cash from the safe, then closed it back up.
The entire plan took less than 10 minutes to execute. According to police, this was the first time a drone had been used for a bank heist.
This well-planned operation left little clues for bank employees, who arrived to find that all the money in the ATM’s safe was gone but the ATM had no signs of damage. The mystery was quickly solved by playing back the security footage, in which the DJI Mini can clearly be seen flying up the ventilation duct.
The robbery took place at the start of this year. Since then, the police have arrested a group of four suspects.