BOSTON -- Police said thieves who broke into a Braintree bank over the weekend used metal cutting tools to disable a security camera and empty an ATM inside the building.

Video

They said the break-in occurred at the Citizen's Bank, at 540 Granite St. at Five Corners.

Officers were called to the bank just after 1 a.m. Monday to investigate a communications failure with the bank.

Officers found wires leading into two sides of the building had been cut and the rear fire escape pried open, Deputy Police Chief Russell Jenkins said.

Inside the building, the officers discovered smoke and notified the fire department, but upon closer examination they determined the smoke was actually debris from a metal cutting tool used to gain access into the ATM machine that had been emptied of its contents.

"The contents of that machine had been removed. It seemed like it was a well thought out, well planned operation," Jenkins said.

A bank security officer found that the video recorder that would have captured movement from the cameras inside the bank had been removed from its cabinet.

A further check revealed that communications with the bank was initially lost at 9:44 p.m. on Sunday.

In Stoughton, Mass., a similar heist occurred on Nov. 12 at almost the exact same time at another Citizens Bank. The wires were cut first, then the building was broken into and the ATM machine robbed of $60,000.

"We believe it's probably more than one person," Stoughton police said.

The FBI has been called in to help with the investigation.