Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating a number of recent thefts of ATM machines in Northern Ireland.

Detectives investigating the thefts in Co Fermanagh and Co Tyrone arrested two men aged 29 and 31, the PSNI said on Thursday.

“Today we conducted five searches in the Omagh area in relation to the theft of ATM machines in Fermanagh and Tyrone between December 2018 and March 2019,” Detective Chief Inspector Brian Foster said.

During the operation police recovered a digger worth €69,000 which was stolen in the Dungannon area in Co Tyrone last Friday.

Both men remain in custody tonight.

Last week, gardaí and PSNI issued separate appeals owners of heavy machinery to keep the vehicles as secure as possible in a bid to prevent more ATM thefts. 15 have been stolen in Northern Ireland so far in 2019.