Robbery deflates retail business
Had enough: Graeme O’Connor from Great Southern Outdoors in Leongatha is incensed by the robbery that took place at his store last Tuesday night.
A BRAZEN burglary at Leongatha’s Great Southern Outdoors last Tuesday night has left owner Graeme O’Connor feeling a little bit fed up.
According to Mr O’Connor unknown offender(s) forced entry through the front door of the Bair Street premises and took between $10,000 and $15,000 worth of stock.
All of the glass cabinets were emptied, which included torches, wallets, belt buckles and knives. A range of clothing, belts and footwear was also taken.
“It is quite a blow for the business. Burglar insurance is very expensive, so we won’t be totally covered,” Mr O’Connor said.
“We have had a big problem this year with shoplifting, which is a sad reflection of the town. I am not the only one who has had problems with theft.”
Mr O’Connor said the problem is only getting worse and suggested Leongatha isn’t the pleasant country town it used to be.
Leongatha police are investigating the burglary and are asking if anybody saw anything suspicious in the area between 5.30pm on Tuesday, October 21 and 8am Wednesday, October 22 to contact them on 5662 2285.
“Although they said the best chance of catching them is finding the items for sale online,” Mr O’Connor said.
“The money is not the issue. The thing that really gets to you is the feeling your personal space has been violated.”
Mr O’Connor said he was hopeful there may have been some security camera footage of the person or persons responsible for the crime.
“The only cameras in town are privately owned and the ones on Memorial Hall don’t work. I think that is something Leongatha needs to look at,” he said.
Mr O’Connor will use money he was going to spend on an air conditioning system for the store on a security system instead.
“I reckon it is really sad. I am the kind of person who likes to leave my back door unlocked and go into the supermarket without locking my car, but you can’t do that anymore,” he said.
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