RESTAURANT RAIDED AGAIN
Burglars strike for fourth time in as many years in damaging theft:
AN Indian restaurant has been left counting the cost after being targeted by burglars for the fourth time in four years.
Staff at Sopna, on the outskirts of Caernarfon, said running a business is “not safe” after thieves made off with cash and five boxes of king prawns.
The break-in took place between midnight and 8am last Monday.
Owner Shajanur Raja said he believed the raiders had somehow used a key to open the restaurant’s door to get in.
He said: “They have had a key they’ve used to open the front door and have taken the till money. They’ve also taken five boxes of king prawns from the freezer. They have thrown a big rock through the window at the bar and escaped through there.
“I found the rock on the floor. They had taken it from our car park. Police have taken photographs.”
His colleague Shah Alam said: “We will now have to pay for repairs and change the door lock and a new window. With everything, it will cost £1,000. This is the fourth time we have been targeted.
“It is not safe running a business. It is not nice and the staff are feeling very bad.”
He said the restaurant would be open as usual, adding: “They must like these prawns.”
When the restaurant was raided last year, thieves took money from a charity box.
In March, 2015, a gang of three men assaulted Mr Raja and handyman Anthony Roberts at the restaurant. Both had hospital treatment. Mr Roberts was left with a broken nose, chipped teeth and a black eye, and needed surgery.
Two months later, thieves squeezed in through a toilet window at the back of the building before stealing a staff tips box and alcohol worth hundreds of pounds.
A North Wales Police spokesman said they were investigating a burglary reported to them. They are appealing for witnesses to contact police by calling 101 or using the live web chat.
Alternatively, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.