Audacious gangs picking off cash machines across north-east Scotland see the area as a “soft target”, it has been claimed.
Police are still hunting criminals who got away with more than £100,000 from an ATM in Kirriemuir and attempted a similar raid in Friockheim.
At the weekend the latest in the planned spate of strikes came at a filling station in Aboyne, on the outskirts of the Mearns.
The brazen robbers smashed into the premises and tried to drag a cash dispenser on to the forecourt and into a dark blue Land Rover Defender.
However the gang fled the scene after they were disturbed, leaving both the vehicle and the ATM behind.
North-east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said he suspected the culprits targeting cash points in Angus and the Mearns and further north were from outwith the area.
He added: “You have to wonder if the criminals are targeting these quieter communities intentionally, where there are fewer people on the streets and less risk of them being disturbed.
“Criminals will always hit the weakest point.
“I think this is a real problem locally, however I don’t think the perpetrators are locally based.
“They are clearly coming here to target what they see as easy, soft targets, and certainly the police should be doing everything they can to catch them.”
No one has been arrested to date for the Kirriemuir crime in December and a £25,000 reward was posted in the hope of attracting fresh information.
Tayside officers still want to track down a distinctive blue BMW M135i, fitted with false plates YE63 BPZ, that was spotted in Kirriemuir at the time of the organised hit there, as well as the failed attempt to empty an ATM in Friockheim.
In January, two ATMs were ripped from the wall of a Morrisons supermarket in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, with £10,000 taken.
In June, thieves made off with £50,000 after blowing up an ATM at Newtonhill’s Tesco store.
Detective Inspector Richard Taylor urged anyone with information to come forward.
He said: “Please contact us on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if you wish to remain anonymous.”