Burglars staged an overnight raid on a Huddersfield town centre shop – and made off with ‘tens of thousands of pounds’ in cash and stock.
Links Mobile, in New Street, was broken into overnight on Friday.
In a carefully-planned operation, raiders knocked through the wall of an adjacent stairwell to gain entry to the room above the mobile phone shop.
They then smashed a second hole through the roof of Links Mobile and entered the shop from above.
Once inside, they took mobile phones and computer equipment before breaking into the safe and stealing a large amount of cash.
The shop didn’t have insurance and the break-in is said to have cost the owner, Babar Hussain, everything he had.
Mr Hussain’s sister-in-law, Sanna Bano, said: “He feels more devastation than anything. He built everything up with hard work and now it’s just gone.”
The shop, which Mr Hussain has owned for just less than a year, had no alarm system installed but was protected by shutters on the inside.
“There was no alarm because there were shutters on the inside of the shop and we never expected anyone to come in through a wall and then the roof,” said Mrs Bano.
“It was a pinpointed break-in. They knew exactly how to get in. The only damage they caused was to the wall and roof.
“They cut off all the electrics to the shop and took the CCTV hard drives. They took all the cash in the safe and all the smartphones. They took absolutely everything.
“In total we’ve lost tens of thousands of pounds.”
Mrs Bano said crime scene investigators spent the weekend collecting fingerprints and were now waiting for results to come back from the lab.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police confirmed enquiries were ongoing.
A statement said: “Suspects are believed to have broken into a New Street store overnight between Friday May 18 and Saturday May 19.
“Once inside, they stole iPhones, Samsung mobile phones, computer equipment and a quantity of cash.
“Forensic enquiries have been conducted and enquiries are ongoing.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Kirklees Police on 101 referencing crime number 13180240606.
Information can also be given anonymously to the independent Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.
