Dutch police have arrested a further four people in connection with an investigation into ATM explosions in the south of Germany, after picking up 12 others at the beginning of the year.

The four new suspects are aged between 25 and 30 and all live in the Utrecht region, as did the first 12 to be arrested.

The German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have been the main target for Dutch criminals who drive into the country in stolen cars, plant explosives, and make off with the cash.

In total, some €5.2 million has been stolen by gangs blowing up cash machines in the two German provinces, police say.

‘The gang was highly organised, with a clear division of roles ranging from preparing explosives to dealing with logistics, driving or blowing up the ATMs at the locations,’ European crime fighting agency Eurojust said when the first arrests were made in February.

Dutch gangs are thought to be behind almost 450 attacks on cash machines in Germany last year, but just 15 were blown up in the Netherlands because of preventative measures, Dutch police said in February.

Raids on ATMs in the Netherlands have prompted banks to move cash dispensers to areas where fewer people live and remove some altogether because of the danger explosions cause to locals.