Owner of robbed Mayo shop fears roving gang may have been behind break-in
Ballyhaunis Notes: mark.philipgodfrey@gmail.com
A shopkeeper on Main Street in Ballyhaunis whose store was robbed recently believes he was targeted by a roving gang of raiders passing through the town.
“They were probably passing through,” said Muhammad Tayyab who runs the Mobile Ink store with his brother Shahid, explaining how a trio of robbers stole €2,000 worth of products and caused over €1,000 worth of damage to his storefront window.
The raiders, who struck at 12.30am last Thursday morning, were clearly prepared, said Muhammad.
“They had a way to drill a small hole and they had a glass cutter but when the shopfront window was too difficult to cut they took a keg from nearby Val’s bar and restaurant.
“We have an alarm in place, we have cameras. There’s not much else we can do other than hire a security guard to stand there all night.
“We have spoken to Eircom alarms and they are suggesting to put sensors on the window, to detect movement, which would trigger an alarm.” Muhammad believes the gang was targetting shops as they travelled from one town to another.
“Someone saw a guy waiting in the car on Knock Road. The three guys in the car came from Upper Main Streets and walked back down.” The raiders spent 40 minutes at the Mobile Ink store, pausing each time a car passed to duck into a nearby doorway.
Muhammad is calling on local authorities to block up that doorway, the entrance to the former Epic nightclub which has been converted into apartments.
“They were able to duck in there and hide, there is no visibility or cameras there.” The Gardaí were called by a local Brazilian woman who was coming home after her shift at Western Brand poultry processing plant.
“The guys working in the local takeaway also came down and they called me,” explained Muhammad.
Mobile Ink was the victim of another incident during Covid when a few phones were stolen.
“Also, two years ago the front glass was broken but nothing was stolen,” said Muhammad.
