KITCHENER — The ATM thieves are at it again.

This time they attempted to steal a banking machine Saturday morning from the lobby of the Howl at the Moon bar on Victoria Street North, but they weren't successful.

It appears the method used each time to remove the cash machine from concrete floor is a heavy-duty chain.

But this time the chain broke as the thieves were trying to get the chain around the machine. They left it there and fled.

Camera footage at the restaurant shows the suspects attempting to steal the ATM but leaving empty-handed just after 6 a.m. The restaurant did not want to speak to the media.

Staff Sgt. Mike Haffner said the thieves smashed the glass in the door to get into the restaurant lobby.

The suspects often wear disguises.

After Saturday's attempted theft, the suspects took off in a newer model Ford-150 quad cab pickup truck, police said. The truck is dark in colour.

The Saturday attempt is a latest in a string of ATM robberies in Waterloo Region and nearby communities. Previous thefts or attempted thefts occurred at:

•The Walmart store in Fairview Park mall on Fairway Road on Feb. 21. Thieves went in through a side door at about 5:30 a.m. but were unable to remove the machine.

•A strip plaza at 425 University Ave. E. in Waterloo, near Bridge Street, between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 19. The stolen ATM was in a vestibule between the FreshCo grocery store and a Rexall pharmacy

•The Stampede Corral, 248 Stirling Ave. S., Kitchener, at 5:20 a.m. on Feb. 17. An ATM was taken from the bar in a white pickup truck, which was found later in the Stanley Park area.

•The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, 400 East Ave., Kitchener, at 4 a.m. on Feb. 3. Thieves smashed a Jeep pickup truck through side doors, drove 30 metres through the lobby and ripped two ATMs from the floor. The truck and ATMs were found later on Otterbein Road.

•The Manor, 211 Silvercreek Pkwy. S., Guelph, just before dawn on Jan. 27. Thieves smashed the front doors of the adult entertainment club and used a chain behind a pickup truck to rip the ATM from the floor. Police arrived and chased the suspects as they dragged the ATM behind the truck. The ATM broke free from the chain a few minutes later on Wellington Street and the truck got away.

•An Esso gas station at Wellington Roads 7 and 18 in Elora at 3:50 a.m. on Jan. 12. Two men ripped an ATM from the floor of the store at the gas station, put it in the back of a sport utility vehicle and drove away.

- Thieves attempt to steal another ATM, this time at Walmart in Kitchener

- Easy money? Another ATM stolen, this time in Waterloo

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