They have the technical precision to generate a controlled detonation, the practice to take large sums of money in seconds and the knowledge to not die trying.
Criminals of Chilean nationality travel through Peru exploiting cashiers with small gas cylinders, stealing amounts that would already exceed half a million soles.
This criminal tactic began in 2024 with the ‘gas saturation’ modality. In complicity with Peruvian criminals, this gang has carried out attacks in Ica, Ancash, La Libertad and Tumbes on the coast, extending to the central and southern mountains in Junín, Ayacucho and Huancavelica.
To date, they have registered 17 attacks on ATMs at different banking entities, although only in seven of these did they manage to extract the money. The last attack was on March 30, against a Scotiabank ATM in Lurín. In said coup, the criminals took S/ 22 thousand.
This technique is not improvised. As explained by a specialist from the El Comercio Investigation Unit, a specialist from the Explosives Deactivation Unit (UDEX), it is an ‘imported’ modality. “It started in Holland and traveled throughout Europe. It came to Chile due to the proximity of its connections and now it is used by Chileans in almost all of Latin America.” The source explained
The expert details that criminals prefer gas over conventional explosives. “The gas does not have a massive shock wave, it does not generate an explosion that destroys the entire tap or puts the lives of the assailants at risk. They know exactly what they are doing,” explained the UDEX source.
-Regional problems-
The gang, called ‘The White Mamelukes’, carried out preliminary intelligence days before the attack, simulating withdrawals to inspect the design of the ATM.
According to Colonel Roger Cano, Dirincri’s robbery chief, the ringleaders come from Chile with extensive knowledge in deflagration and have left their ‘stamp’ in Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia.
Given the increase in attacks, the Association of Banks of Peru (Asbanc) indicated that, in 2025, it coordinated training with experts from the European Union for the Águilas Negras and Dirincri units. “At the regional level, permanent monitoring of this problem has been activated, which affects various countries in the region and is analyzed in the FELABAN Committee of Latin American Security Experts (CELAES), they indicated.
-Jail sentences-
In Peru, this crime is classified as aggravated robbery. But, for the use of explosives the sentence would be more than 15 years. In Chile this crime is considered highly dangerous and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
