Thieves target import business
An elderly Hastings business owner has been left frustrated and scared after almost $1000 worth of unique ornaments were stolen in one of four burglaries in nine months.
Barron Imports offer a wide range of handcrafted artwork, furniture and crafts made from materials sourced primarily from across Asia.
Three finials were stolen during a burglary in the early hours of Thursday morning from the State Highway 51-based business.
Owner Barry Leadbeater says the ornaments, imported from India, are not the only recently stolen goods from their Whakatu store.
“We’ve had four break-ins over the last nine months,” he said.
“But these finials are very specific, so nobody else would have them.”
The 71-year-old said the finials are worth $280 each and worries next time the offenders may become violent.
“It’s a horrible feeling when know somebody is walking around your property at night,” he said.
“It’s likely only a matter of time before we hear something, go to investigate and get attacked, as usually when you catch people, they become aggressive.
“That is always a worry for us,” Leadbeater says.
“We’re just an elderly couple trying to make a living and helping people in need — why steal from us?
“Get off your arse and go and get a job,” he added. Eastern District Police are appealing for any information regarding the burglary at Barron Imports — one of two in the area that night. Police received a report of a person attempting to enter a property on Station Rd, Whakatu, shortly before 3am, before a person broke into a business address on SH51 and took product.
Leadbeater, who has been working alongside his wife Annette for 47 years, says shoplifting and theft has been a “constant problem”, with lanterns, wood carvings and more being taken in the last few months alone.
The business owner and his partner also provide a proportion of their sales profits to financing schools, medical clinics, education facilities and water supplies to those in need abroad.
“We provide humanitarian work in poorer countries and spend a lot of time, effort and money here to help those in need,” he said.
“Our humanitarian work is financed by the profit we make here, so the effort we go through to get these things for someone to steal them is frustrating.
“We just hope somebody may see them or find them and let us know where they are,” Leadbeater says.
Police are advising nearby residents to secure their properties and keep valuables out of sight.
Record serial numbers, photograph expensive electronic items, install an alarm system, get sensor lights fitted and keep garden sheds and garages locked are also suggested way to reduce the risk of burglaries. Anyone who saw anything suspicious overnight between November 11 and 12 is asked to contact police and quote file number 201112/6198.