A Bridgetown store owner is counting several thousands of dollars in losses following a daring break-in at a City business earlier this week..
In an interview with Barbados TODAY manager of MOH Electronics Jamar Peters confirmed that the robbery took place at the Tudor Street branch between 1:20 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. last Sunday.
He said the store owner was out of the island and he was alerted to the robbery around 11 a.m. when someone from another store in the same building contacted him.
Peters could not give the dollar value of the items stolen but he said about 40 to 50 high-end items including refurbished and new cell phones, laptops and tablets were taken.
The store manager said he believed the store was targeted and the robbers, who he said appeared to be young men, were very familiar with the store.
“They knew what they were coming for, it seems they came in the store previously. The way the break-in occurred, we were targeted. The landlord didn’t even know that the building was built in such a way that the robbery could be done, at that point in time,” he said.
“They entered from the staircase. There was a slim opening between the staircase that was wall and wood so they found the exact part where the wood was and it was like the old time concrete board and they broke in. I don’t know how they knew this information, I can just assume. I feel like they were close to the building.
They broke the glass with tape and climbed through the glass.
“The guys also looked pretty young in the footage and the way they were moving the cameras it looked like they had done this before. They were very calm. There were six cameras and the first thing they did was move the cameras but the two that captured them, they didn’t see those.”
Peters said the police were investigating the matter, noting they had already downloaded a copy of the footage, a part of which was circulated on social media.
The video showed two masked men, one in a hoodie, jumping through a section of the store and stealing the items.
When Barbados TODAY visited the store earlier this week, business was being conducted as usual and there was police presence.
During the interview, the store manager also appealed to Barbadians to be more cautious in these times.
“I would like to encourage everyone, not just store owners, to be more vigilant because times have changed. Crime is higher, it is in plain sight. Bridgetown generally should have more lighting. When you travel the world and you go to someone’s capital the major streets always have lighting, bright lights.”
He added that this was not the first time MOH Electronics was hit by thieves.
In 2021 the branch in Spooner’s Hill, St Michael was robbed twice. (SZB)
