Opportunistic burglars used a power outage as cover for a burglary at the Barry Hertzog Park shopping centre this morning.
With everything literally in the dark, criminals reportedly hurled a rectangular block of solid stone through the window of Die Opstal at about 4am, gaining entry to the store.
Owner, Mohammed Alli said the outage had tripped all his systems.
“They pushed the shelf over and vaulted the counter,” he said dejectedly.
Those employed at the shopping centre said the criminals must have scouted the shop beforehand, as they knew just where to find thousands of Rands worth of airtime and cigarettes.
Mr Alli added an undisclosed amount of cash was also taken.
“People at the centre called the SAPS and security company first, then I was called.”
Mr Alli said SAPS officers had taken statements and wrapped things up at the burglary, yet at the time he was still waiting for fingerprint experts to process the store, and for a case number.
Police spokesman, Warrant-Officer Simon Luthuli said a formal statement would be issued at a later stage.
Meanwhile, those who operate shops and services at the shopping centre are shaking their heads in disgust, considering the losses suffered a few weeks ago during flooding in the area.
“People have already lost so much this year.”
