Armed police detain five in Carnoustie ATM operation

ARMED police have detained five men in connection with the theft of an ATM machine in Carnoustie.

Specialist officers arrived at a McDonald’s restaurant in Arbroath around 8.30am this morning, four hours after the ATM had been taken.

Customers at the restaurant reported “two or three shots” during the raid, with some members of the public huddling down into their car seats for protection.

Police later confirmed that vehicle tyre deflation rounds were shot into the tyres of a Mercedes, believed to contain the suspects.

A police statement read: “Police Scotland can confirm that five men have been detained in relation to the theft of an ATM from a shop premises in the Barry Road area of Carnoustie this morning.

“The incident occurred at around 4:30am and the men were detained by specialist officers at Westway Retail Park in Arbroath.

“The detentions are part of an ongoing police operation involving officers from Police Scotland’s Organised Crime Unit based at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, officers from Tayside Division and Titan (North West Regional Crime Unit, England).”