Store operator Ankit Gandhi was shocked and dismayed after the theft which took place overnight on Saturday during Labour weekend.
“It’s lots of hassle for me, it’s not easy for me to deal with, this one,” Gandhi said.
The offender or offenders had cut through the internet cable outside the store and ripped off a burglar alarm, so the security company could not be alerted to the break in.
"Once inside, they cut wires to interior security cameras and took the camera hard drive, leaving no CCTV images.
They also left no fingerprints.
Until his security cameras were restored recently, Gandhi had been remaining in the shop overnight to make sure no one else broke in.
“I’m staying the nights here, I don’t sleep much.”
Locked cigarette cabinet doors had been wrenched open and their shelves emptied, while a safe with a full week’s takings had been broken into and the cash inside stolen.
Gandhi said he had lost customers wanting to buy cigarettes over several days until stocks were replenished. He had also been busy repairing the damage, renewing the security system and making an insurance claim.
He was grateful for huge support from customers and the community, including those who repaired the hole in the shop’s roof.
“The government needs to stop it, it’s happening a lot,” Gandhi said.
He was incensed at a lack of repercussions for thieves and burglars.
“If they stand here next to us and do the work, then they will realise how to make money.”
His comments echoed those of Prebbleton Dairy owner Sangeet Mehta, whose shop has been targeted by youths in three ram-raids and an armed robbery.
Mehta came away disappointed from a recent family group conference involving one of the youths, believing the boy had been allowed to rack up dozens of charges with no consequences.
A police spokesperson said a scene examination and inquiries into the Southbridge Superette burglary had not been able to identify those involved.
“At this stage the case has been filed as there are no further lines of inquiry.”
