Eatery break-in caught on video
A DARING robbery caught on video at a Cairns City shopping centre has netted thieves cash and a mobile phone as frustrated business operators grapple with an escalating crime situation.
Last week, CCTV vision captured a group of girls scurrying under the partially closed roller door of Orchid Plaza’s Yokozuna restaurant and passing stolen items to a woman.
The woman can be seen in the video picking up an iPhone XR and umbrella from a table.
A nearby worker sees the girls climbing out from under the door and gives chase but the thieves get away.
Orient Express sushi train owner Dean Ward said he had been warned by the owner of Yokozuna following the theft and every day it was a battle to keep Orchid Plaza a welcoming place for diners.
“We have a lot of people in here that do things like turn off the escalators to taunt us and they abuse us,” he said.
“We have groups of people come in and smoke and drink in the centre and some of the (people) get quite abusive, they will be yelling and swearing and causing a scene.
“We call security and they kick them out, but no sooner are they gone, they come back.
“The thing that bothers me the most is it discourages people from coming here.”
Receptionist at an Orchid Plaza massage business Nara Lee said she recently had her car stolen after thieves broke into her second-storey Cairns North apartment and took off with car keys.
Her Uber-driving husband had no work while the badly damaged car was off the road for four weeks.
“We didn’t have any income. So that’s why we just decided to move to Redlynch quickly,” she said.
At her job in Orchid Plaza, Ms Lee said youths trying to steal from the business was a regular occurrence but she was shocked to see the video of the Yokozuna restaurant theft.
“I can feel it’s getting really serious, it’s happening too often,” she said.
“Almost every single day, it’s really common, people like in this video screaming around and swearing. This shop is an open place, and it’s very busy here. And sometimes some young kids try to come inside the shop to steal something.”
Police confirmed cash and “other property” had been stolen from the business.
“We would ask anyone with any information to come forward,” a spokeswoman said.