THIEVES who stole a car and ram-raided a supermarket caused thousands of dollars of damage for “virtually nothing” on Thursday.
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After failing to gain entry to Jindera IGA, four men wearing scream masks, hoodies and gloves reversed a stolen white Ford Laser through the shop’s glass doors.
They managed to steal cigarettes before fleeing in the car about 11.50pm, leaving a damage bill that cost far more than the items they stole.
Store manager John Paul Mathews said the thieves had also put the business back about half a day’s work.
“They would have been better calling us and asking if we’d like to set fire to $5000, because that’s all they’ve done and bumped our insurance up,” Mr Mathews said.
“The biggest issue with this is because we’ve had the fire at East Albury IGA and so many break-ins over the last two years our insurance excess is through the roof.
“If you weigh up the time and planning it takes to do it and the amount you’re getting out of it — there are better things you can be doing with your time and better ways to make money without trying to destroy people’s livelihoods.
“They could have made more working for us.
“The amount they took was minimal, but the damage they caused is just enormous — for virtually nothing.”
The car was reported stolen from Crisp Street in Albury and later recovered on Table Top Road.
The robbery was caught on CCTV and forensic officers spent yesterday morning examining the scene.
Extra security measures are being looked into and staff were carrying out a stocktake to determine how many cigarettes were stolen.
The late night phone calls from security companies have become a regular occurrence for owner Bob Mathews.
He said he was determined not to let senseless criminals ruin his holiday, which he planned to leave for yesterday.
“East Albury had 15 break-ins in 18 months, it also had the fire and Jindera has only had one break-in years ago,” he said.
“We get the phone call, we ring the police, security and insurance and we get dressed in our going-to-a-break-in clothes.
“It’s funny how you get used to these things and we manage to cope pretty well in the end.
“After the fire we have an excess of $5000 we have to pay anyway, so basically any theft that happens we pay for — but that’s the world we live in.”
Contact Albury Police on (02) 6023 9299 with any information.
