Raid on Greenland Street shop - Cigarettes worth £15,000 stolen after thieves enter newsagents through tiny rear window

Published: 06 January 2011
by JAMIE WELHAM
 

THIEVES may have used a child accomplice to break into a Camden Town newsagents opposite a police base.

Officers have told the owner of Greenland News, Aftab Ahmad, that it is unlikely an adult could have squeezed through the tiny basement window of his shop before stealing more than £15,000 worth of cigarettes.

The store in Greenland Street faces the bright blue Met Police base used by the Camden Town and Primrose Hill’s Safer Neighbourhood team (SNT).

Distraught Mr Ahmad said it would take him more than 12 months to recover from the loss after having stocked up on “a year’s worth” of cigarettes ahead of the VAT hike.

Thieves struck in the early hours of Monday morning, scrupulously covering their tracks by removing the store’s security system and washing their footprints with cleaning fluid. 

After entering through the window, they smashed down two doors, before stealing phone cards and cash from the till as well as the cigarettes.

Officers are reviewing CCTV in the street and have warned other shopkeepers to be vigilant after a series of break-ins at stores over the ­festive period including WH Smith in Finchley Road.

Mr Ahmad, who has run the family business for 18 years, said: “I really thought we were safe. The police use the street quite heavily. Their cars are always outside and with all the CCTV and our security I don’t know what more I can do. We have never been broken into before.

“For a small business at the time of a recession, this is going to be really hard for us. I had gone out and bought all these cigarettes because of the change in VAT.”

The police base is only open during the day, having once been the site of a stand-off between charity workers and officers in its previous incarnation as a neighbourhood advice centre before it was closed and reopened by the force in 2005.

Mr Ahmad added: “I think whoever did it must have come into the shop and had a proper look around first. It looks like they used a child to crawl through the window. It’s about 30 centimetres wide. Also if you drove past, I think you would think there would be police next door. They must have known about the opening hours.”

A spokeswoman for Camden Police said: “The SNT base on Greenland Road is manned by Camden and Primrose Hill SNT. It does not have exact opening times, it is open when the SNT are on duty, this means that it is usually open from 10am. Depending on the different shifts of the SNT it could remain open until 10pm or sometimes later.”