This article is from page 10 of the 2014-07-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
A MAN whose family-run business was hit by a daring smash and grab raid in Ennis last week is urging businesses to be extra vigilant.
High value electronic goods worth up to € 20,000 were stolen when two men broke into Ennis Electrical in the early hours of Wednesday morning last.
A number of Apple devices including iPads, iPods, Samsung tablets, computers and a television were stolen.
Eric Flynn of Ennis Electrical said the premises on Quin Road had previously been targeted by thieves but this is the first time the shop on Parnell Street has been hit.
“You get the odd broken window there on a Saturday night with people being out but we’ve never had anything like this.
“The window that was broken was the only one that wasn’t shatter proof. The rest are.”
He continued, “It was a bit of a shock alright but to be honest it’s more of a disappointment. You would get the odd small minor thing but nothing on this scale. We’re in business in town for 40 years and something like this never happened.”
Eric believes there is very little that could have been done to prevent the robbery.
“The reality is there very little we could have done to prevent it. These guys don’t care about the law. They don’t care about the guards. They don’t care about alarms, security cameras, anything. They are on a mission. They were only here for 90 seconds. This was well planned and well thought out. They were probably watching the place beforehand. They used a sledgehammer to break in the window and they left that behind them. They left a fine mess.
“We have CCTV but they had hoodies up. They don’t care about cameras. It’s only a minor obstacle to them. It was unlucky in one way. The guards had passed the area a few minutes beforehand and they were there about three minutes after it.
“In fairness, the CCTV system in the town is second to none. The guards were able to tell me what route they took out of town where they were at a certain point.”
Eric is urging businesses to be vigilant of any suspicious behaviour around their premises.
“Businesses and that goes for everything from retail, pubs, newsagents, it’s important to be vigilant. If you see anyone hanging around the shop it might be no harm to make a note of it and tell the guards. From a day-to-day perspective, if you notice anything suspicious, it’s no harm to tell the guards. Hopefully that can be helpful down the line.”
The six laptops stolen from the shop were taken without power supplies.
“They don’t have a power supply so if someone is offered them that should raise a red flag,” Eric added.