A Dapto pizza outlet has been robbed of its hard-earned dough after three thieves smashed their way in and fled with an entire night's takings last week.
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It was under the cover of darkness, in the early hours of Friday morning, when the masked trio – a female and two males – broke into the Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar on the Princes Highway.
After forcing a roller door at the rear of the shop, a tin of paint and a metal rod were the theives’ tools of choice to smash through a glass door and unlock it.
“They went through and took the till; took our takings for Thursday night,” Crust Dapto franchisee Kane Thomas told the Mercury.
Mr Thomas said the intruders spent about five minutes trying to break through the door. Once inside “it was one or two minutes and they were gone”. The thieves cleaned out the cash register, taking an amount estimated to be between $700 and $900, and left nothing in the till.
Also taken, from a glass on a table near the back door, were a few coins Mr Thomas had emptied out of his pockets. However, in taking the contents of the glass, something was left behind.
“The person with paint that smashed the door had paint on their fingers when they touched that glass, so they [police] got a really nice fingerprint,” he said.
Mr Thomas described the events of that night as “a little bit of a perfect storm”.
After a busy Thursday night, he took a late delivery to Lake Heights and continued on to his Bulli home.
Mr Thomas had other staff lock the shop, but hadn’t had a chance to clear the till.
A message from a delivery driver on Friday morning alerted him to the break-in.
“It was like a cold shower that woke me up; and a long drive into the shop to see what had happened,” he said.
“I couldn’t believe it. February and March are quieter months.”
Mr Thomas said the cash stolen and the damage repair bill equated to about a whole month’s profit.
“We’re working for the rest of the month just to sort of come back to even, that’s probably the most gut-wrenching thing,” he said.
The robbery came after the store was caught up in a credit card fraud earlier this year, when $400 was spent using stolen cards over the phone.
Police are investigating the break-in. It is unclear, at this stage, if it is linked to the arrest of three teenagers who allegedly broke into the Dapto Mall early on Saturday.
In that incident, four people made their way to the underground carpark of the Princes Highway shopping centre just before 12.30am.
The group, wearing face masks, forced one of the large sliding doors to the complex and entered the premises.
Security staff observed the incident on CCTV and made an announcement via the public address system. The group fled as several officers from Lake Illawarra police arrived. The group was pursued on foot and three teenagers apprehended nearby.
The fourth person escaped, but dropped a bag with identification documents and a face mask.
A 16-year-old male and a female, 17, were charged, refused bail and appeared at a children’s court on Saturday.
A 15-year-old male was cautioned and released.