DRACUT, MASS. (WHDH) - A Dracut store owner is hoping a surveillance recording will help police catch the thieves that stole tens of thousands of dollars in cash and products from his store Friday — a huge setback for a recently-purchased family business.
Dracut Town Variety owner Sunjay Patel said he got a call from police after the burglars allegedly broke in around 4 a.m. A surveillance camera recording shows them come in through the bottom of a glass window and crawl around to see what they could steal.
“They took out the whole glass door, glass frame, put it in the side, and they’re crawling on the floor,” Patel said. “They took cigarettes, lottery tickets, and liquor, my laptop, my iPad.”
Patel said the losses add up to $20,000 to $30,000. He’s hoping insurance will cover the theft, but he just bought the store a month ago and said a burglary like this is a big blow for a small, family-run business.
“It’s cash money. What they are stealing, that is the cash, and easily sellable goods, like the cigarettes. Nobody can detect from where they get it. You can sell the cigarettes for $2, $3 a pack — that’s a total profit for thieves, but that’s a total loss for me.” Patel said. “It’s a part of life, part of business, but God bless them that they never do that again.”
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