'It will happen again' says Preston takeaway owner after intruders target premises for fifth time

Cappadocia Urban Cuisine, on Water Lane, was robbed for the fifth time on Monday, February 15, when more than £100 of charity donations were stolen.

Owners Albee and Mohammed Hoque are now determined to find those responsible over worries that they will fall victim to intruders yet again.

After ripping away the electric shutters and pulling down CCTV cameras in operation at the takeaway, intruders entered the premises and robbed off with £500 of stock, an Acer tablet, a monitor, a charity box totalling more than £100 and the unit that holds the security footage.

Albee said: "The thieves could have been at the shop anytime between midnight and the morning. They had managed to rip away the back shutters and then take the camera that overlooked that spot.

"They took at least £500 of our stock using our insulated delivery bags, which cost £50 each and a charity box with well over £100 of donations in.

"It is very likely that someone has seen or noticed this as there would have been a lot of noise from the break-in. This has happened several times now to our shop and other shops in the area and will only continue if we don't catch these criminals."

Owners Albee and Mohammad had just spent money extending the kitchen at the takeaway after a huge increase in online orders during the pandemic left them eager to expand the business.

But they are now reluctant to use the newly renovated space and order more stock over fears that it will be snatched again.

Albee added: "They took all the units that record the CCTV so we can't get any of it back. Looking at what they took, we suspect it is a lot more than £500, because they have completely cleared out the freezers.

"Even though we have been doing well in the pandemic, this is still awful for us. If we now order more stock, there will just be more to take when this happens again.

"We will get new shutters fitted which is expensive, and new security equipment comes at such a cost for small businesses."

When the Post contacted Lancashire Police they confirmed that the incident has been reported and added that investigations are ongoing.

The Post has contacted the Preston Neighbourhood Police team for more information.

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