Elaines proprietor Kate Chrystal has been at the business for six years and relocated the shop from elsewhere in Emerson St last year, and Life Pharmacy owner Peter Bailey is a CBD stalwart who has been in pharmacy in Emerson St for 45 years.
They said the thieves “seemed to know what they were after”, but the damage to the shopfronts was expected to cost thousands of dollars more than the property that was stolen.
Glass from the smashed door showered throughout Elaines as the thieves started grabbing D’Or and other products, and Bailey said his shop’s raiders’ biggest interest as they headed to the display stands seemed to be Versace. There was no attempt to steal any drugs, he said.
Both praised the police for the quick responses. Chrystal said police were soon at the scene tracking where the offenders had fled through an alley beside the shop.
“They [the offenders] even used my car park at the back,” she said indignantly.
Bailey said because offenders were known to have driven vehicles into the street to commit the raids, as in ram-raids in the past, the offences were the latest examples of the need for retractable bollards in the laneway at the entrances and exits to block offenders driving through the shopping centre at night.
