Rupert & Emma are seen outside their Staffordshire retail storefront
The gang of Balaclava-clad Romanian thieves is believed to be responsible for a string of shopliftings in the Midlands, North West and North Wales.
In the last four weeks at least seven farm shops were targeted. CCTV suggests that the same group, highly-skilled criminals, is behind the attacks.
They even managed to circumvent one store’s £10,000 alarm system by crawling like commandoes around the aisles.
The men got away with £16,000 in bank notes from a certified safe at Denstone Hall, Staffordshire last month.
Rupert Evans of Denstone Hall, 50, believes that the gang likely visited his store on that day
Last month, the gang crawled commando style on Denstone Hall’s floor.
Evans added: ‘It’s hugely unsettling for all of us to realise that criminals have been in the shop, working out how to return and break in’
NFU Mutual Mutual, an insurer, warned that burglars could have taken advantage farm shop’s rural, isolated locales.
David Harrison, the spokesperson said that organised criminals were using remote farm shop locations to perpetrate burglaries.
“We have never seen a series so well-organized as this.”
Rupert Evans, owner of Denstone Hall claims that they stole tips from staff members, according to The Sunday Times.
Evans (50) said that watching them move around in an attempt to prevent the alarm from triggering was one of the most bizarre things he’d ever witnessed.
“I tried it out myself to see if the alarm went off, and I was astonished that it didn’t.
“They looked like they were in The Matrix, with their ski snoods that had a small gap between their eyes and their helmets.”
The same group are suspected of robbing Wolverhampton’s Essington Farm shop on July 4.
They did, however, trigger the alarm and were able to flee empty handed.
Owner Will Simkin stated that he was present at the scene and had arrived at his property just in time.
According to police, they’re ‘amazed by’ the sophistication and methods of this gang.
Staffordshire police said that they are conducting extensive investigations and encourage anybody with CCTV footage or information to call the police in Staffordshire.
Police in North Wales urged farmers to remain alert for suspicious customers during business hours.
This week, Mr Evans spoke to The Grocer: “They knew the structure of the business so it seems very likely that they cased joint prior to the attack.”
“The most important thing about it is that nobody was hurt just because it occurred at night.
‘However, it’s hugely unsettling for all of us to realise that criminals have been in the shop, working out how to return and break in.’