Business owners are in shock in Emerald this morning after three stores were hit by a series of break-ins along Kilvington Drive.
Hush Beauty and Skin, Bill’s Fish ‘n’ Chips and The Laughing Fox Cafe have all suffered break-ins, vandalism and alleged robberies – a passer-by spotted and reported the damages to the storefronts around 5am, on Thursday 24 July.
Owner of Hush Beauty and Skin Jessica Callahan said it looked like a sledgehammer had been taken to parts of their store in an alleged attempt to steal cash.
“We also had a break-in around six months ago,” she said.
The staff in Hush are still in clean-up mode at their storefront, with numerous damages and broken glass needing to be dealt with in their treatment space.
The owner of The Laughing Fox, Ali, said they have opened for business despite the damage to their premises.
“We are open today, better to show that we are strong,” he said.
Ali said staff were in shock initially, seeing damage to their front door and inside the store.
“We have already taken the door to be fixed,” he said.
The cafe has been in business in Emerald for six years, and this is their first experience with a break-in.
This spate of robberies comes after a number of reports from other parts of the Dandenongs Ranges of shop owners being broken into in Kallista and Olinda earlier in the week.
A police spokesperson has confirmed that Cardinia Crime Investigation Unit are investigating the series of burglaries in Emerald.
“It is understood three business on Kilvington Drive were broken into sometime overnight,” they said.
“The investigation remains ongoing.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
