Brazen thieves walked into a shop and ripped out a cash machine in Irlam.
Two masked men carried out the cheeky raid at an off-licence on Liverpool Road on Friday night before loading it into a waiting car and driving away.
Police were called and later tracked down the vehicle and stolen cash.
A 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft and affray.
The drama happened at Irlam News and Wine shortly before 6.10pm on Friday.
Two men walked into the store, removed a free-standing cash machine and loaded it into the boot of a Seat Toledo.
The car drove off towards Eccles.
Police are linking the theft to another incident at another store an hour earlier when a man entered a property on Bury New Road in Salford armed with a crowbar.
Detectives say the man fled the scene and no-one was injured.
Police enquiries led police to McLean Drive in Irlam where officers found the Kia and the stolen cash machine.
A spokeswoman for GMP said: "Enquiries are on-going."
Detective Inspector Lee Moriarty, of GMP’s Salford division, said: "Thanks to the swift actions of officers and witnesses coming forwards with information, our enquiries progressed quickly and we were able to trace the stolen cash machine along with the vehicle.
"We now have a man in custody who will be interviewed by our specialist officers throughout today but our enquiries are very much ongoing at this time.
" I would continue to urge anyone with any information or anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the local area last night to get in touch as soon as they can."
Anyone with information is urged to call police on 0161 856 5237 or 101 quoting incident number 1855 of 28/06/2019, or ring Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
