By Taylah Eastwell
It appears the “50 percent off” sale was not enough for thieves who smashed through the front window of an Emerald jewellery store overnight before fleeing with full hands.
Star of Emerald Jewellers owner Mark Dabrowski said he was woken up to an out-of-the-blue call from police about 3am on Wednesday 17 February.
“I was woken up by the police telling me the shop was burgled. They said a witness disturbed the robbers, so they had no chance to get into the shop,” Mr Dabrowski said.
While the thieves failed to make their way into the shopfront, they used force to smash two holes in the front window, big enough for their hands to reach inside. Exactly what objects were used to break through the glass is unknown at this stage.
The store had been closed as part of stage four lockdown restrictions.
“We had a prepared a display hoping the lockdown would be eased so we could trade on Thursday (18 February), that’s why we were jazzing up the display and making a sale for opening,” Mr Dabrowski said.
The thieves made away with an array of jewellery from the front stands, only leaving behind a few things that were dropped as they fled in a getaway car, according to Mr Dabrowski.
“It appears 50 percent wasn’t enough for some people, they want something for free.”
Mr Dabrowski said arriving at his shop to scenes of police and detectives was something he had never had to deal with in his three-and-a-half years as an Emerald trader.
“It’s concerning. It’s never happened before. We were very safe in Emerald and have never had any problems at all, I was very surprised,” he said.
Mr Dabrowski assured customers that their jewellery items are always safely stored and locked in a “big bank volt” safe on the property.
Police detective Sargeant Dean Hayes said an investigation is underway.
