£50k robbery in Limavady
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Bond’s Jewellers, which was broken into during the early hours of last Wednesday (September 17).
A BURGLARY at a Limavady business premises saw over £50,000 worth of stock stolen, it was revealed this week.
Bond's Jewellers of Market Street was broken into in the early hours of Wednesday morning, resulting in a large number of designer watches being stolen, and the shop trashed in the process.
The proprietor Colin Bond watched via CCTV on his home computer as thieves ransacked his shop.
He was alerted to the robbery when his alarm company phoned him on Wednesday at approximately 3.30am. He said: "We watched in horror as the shop was completely devastated. They smashed the cabinets with crowbars and stole all the watches and jewellery in the shop."
The jeweller said he believed the thieves had visited the shop earlier in the day to check security measures.
"We saw the same two people wearing the same clothes on the CCTV," he said.
"They completely smashed the shop and then made off with two plastic bin bags out the broken door, through which they had thrown a large boulder."
Police have stated that the two men involved in the robbery were both wearing tracksuit bottoms and builder gloves and forced their way into the shop by prising open the shutters. They then threw large boulders at the glass door which also smashed the glass cabinets inside the shop in which the designer watches were on display.
Mr Bond is offering a £1,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the two criminals. He said: "I have CCTV images of the two culprits in action but I also have images of the same pair, wearing the same clothes, in the shop earlier that day, and they seem to be sizing the place up.
“They absolutely wrecked the shop and got away with over £50,000 worth of jewellery and watches.
“They worked very fast - watching the CCTV, they broke in at 3.39am, were gone by 3.42am, and the police arrived at 3.44am, unfortunately missing them by about two minutes. But the police response was very fast, they tried there best.
“I am offering a £1,000 reward to anyone who can provide any information which leads to the apprehension of these two criminals."
Police are warning people to be wary of anyone selling any designer watches with names such as Guess, Police, D&G and DKNY.
A spokesperson for the PSNI stated: "Detectives at Limavady want to hear from anyone who noticed the culprits, one of whom was carrying the stolen property in a black binbag, as they left the scene. We also want to hear from anyone who has been offered similar watches for sale from an unusual source or at an unrealistic price.
