Similar products were taken in the two other raids, and in break-ins at two other stores in April, leading to four arrests.
Pharmacist Peter Bailey, the longest-serving businessman in the Napier CBD, said repairs from the April burglaries had only been completed a fortnight ago.
“I’m wondering if it’s worth carrying on here,” he said.
There’ve been many burglaries in the street in which front entrances have been smashed, with vehicles invariably used for ram-raids or as getaway vehicles.
Bailey called on the Napier City Council to take steps to bolster security in the area, and keep vehicles away from the street at night.
He said he had been told retractable bollards would be restored to the entrance to the shopping precinct in a re-design of the area, which allows only west-bound traffic in the Hastings St-Dalton St sector.
“But, nothing’s happened,” he said, recalling there had been retractable bollards in the laneway several years ago.
“But they took them away.”
A council spokesperson said there is a plan for bollards to be installed, although it had been “scoped” over a four-year period.
Hawke’s Bay Today understands there were no other commercial burglaries at the weekend in Napier or Hastings.
Police said there had been a burglary at William Colenso College about 3.30pm on Sunday in which it appeared an offender had been injured while trying to enter the buildings.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
