THIEVES stole $20,000 in cigarettes and $300 cash from a Caltex service station in Balcombe Rd, Mentone, early Saturday morning (22 October).
Two offenders used an angle grinder to cut a padlock on the front glass door, 2.45am, but were scared away by a passing car. Returning five minutes later they damaged an exterior alarm box when attempting to pull it from the roof. They then used a jemmy bar to force the door backwards to enter the premises. CCTV footage shows them jumping over the counter and again using the angle grinder to break a padlock from the cigarette roller shutter cupboard to steal 700 packets. They were unable to break into the other locked cupboard but did steal two cash tills containing $300.
The men were wearing gloves and had their faces covered. They were in the store five minutes and then drove off west along Balcombe Rd and into Swanston St North in a silver BA Ford Falcon sedan parked out front.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 26 October 2016