Criminal targets local coffee shop

LOCAL coffee shop, Francocel, has fallen victim to the unsavoury burglaries that have been occurring at local businesses recently.

According to business owner, Hester Fritze, this is the fifth time the store has had a break-in since they started operating.

“They usually do not go for anything besides the money, they leave all the cakes and other goods in place,” said Hester.

The business has already had two break-ins this year by the same person (this is according to the footage on their CCTV camera). The first time the man broke-in on February 28, he made off with an amount of R550, which was in the till.

“The second time he was here was on the third of March. Fortunately I had taken all the money from the till. On the video you can see him rummaging around for money before trying to take off with a cake,” said Hester with a laugh.

The man ended up leaving the cake after he heard security guards approaching.

Although the matter is a horrible one, Hester still manages to laugh as she recalls watching the man getting frustrated when he heard the security guards approaching.

She is, however, hoping that the police will get to the bottom of the matter and said that all she wanted was for this law-breaker to stop harassing them, as she has had to mend the glass he breaks in through twice already.

She also went on to say that they were now waiting for the police to see if they could track the man down.

An umbrella was found in the store after the last burglary and the police took it to look for fingerprints.

According to the SAPS, criminals seem to be targeting food businesses in town. The reason for this is unknown but store owners are warned to be vigilant and to avoid leaving money on the premises at the end of the day.