Traders fume at crime spree

By Glen Atwell
A RASH of robberies along Cranbourne’s High Street has angered local traders, who have declared enough is enough.
Four commercial properties, including one business hit twice, were been broken between 8 and 12 January.
All the burglaries occurred in the same section of High Street, with each business within 10 numbers of one another.
Beaurepaires was the first to be struck, at 1am on 8 January, when thieves smashed through a showroom window and left with cash.
The next night about 11.15pm, Cranbourne Sand and Soil was robbed when offenders scaled a cyclone fence, forced their way into a small office using a screwdriver and escaped with cash.
On the same night at 4am , Cranbourne’s Cheapest Tyres was robbed after an offender used a block of wood to enter the showroom and stole a sum of money.
On 12 January, thieves attempted to force their way into Adam’s Takeaway at 207 High Street, but, after cutting through a mesh security screen, could not open a heavy-duty door at the rear of the shop.
But it did little to deter the daring offenders.
On the same day, Cranbourne Sand and Soil was struck again, sometime in the early morning, when six trucks were broken into and a number of personal items were stolen, including a GPS navigation unit and a CD player.
A shipping container containing laser levels was also broken into.
Ross from Cranbourne Sand and Soil said he was fed up with the thieves and urged anyone with information to come forward.
“I’ll give someone $500 for a name,” he said.
“The last two break-ins are only the tip of the iceberg. We’ve been robbed 10 times in the past year, it is absolutely ridiculous.
“Enough is enough, it must stop. It’s costing us a fortune,” he said.
Cranbourne Police believe the burglaries may be linked and have appealed to the public for information.
Anyone with information can call Detective Senior Constable Ed Keon-Cohen at the Cranbourne Criminal Investigation Unit on 5991 0661.