CHENNAI: Two years after a series of ATM heists were reported in the city, the ICF police on Saturday detained a former private company employee for inquiry. The city police detained Raja of Red Hills for inquiry after he was arrested in Coimbatore recently, in connection with looting Rs 56 lakh which had to be deposited in the ATMs.

A senior police office investigating the case said Raja and his friend Johnson Prabhu were previously employed in a private manpower company which would refill the ATMs in the city.“In 2017, the duo stole around `8 lakh from an ATM in Aynavaram, `9 lakh in ICF and another Rs 5 lakh in Rajamangalam. Raja knew the ATM machines’ passwords which he misused later and took the money,” said the officer.

Then, a case was registered and the police had launched a hunt for the duo. Recently, when a similar case was reported in Coimbatore, they found it was the same men who were involved.However, Johnson was released on bail and is absconding while the ICF police have taken Raja for inquiry.