The owners of an Epping supermarket will ramp up security after their store was ram-raided on Sunday morning.
A stolen car was used to break into the family-owned IGA supermarket in McDonalds Road about 2.20am on Sunday morning.
Detectives from the Whittlesea Crime Investigation Unit have been told a man used a stolen Toyota Kluger to smash his way through the supermarket’s automatic doors.
Once inside, closed circuit footage shows he beelined for the liquor section. He kicked in the glass cabinet doors and stole about 10 bottles of bourbon.
Co-owner Capri Parmar said he stole between $900 and $1000 worth of Jim Beam, Wild Turkey and Jack Daniels.
He described the scene when he arrived that morning as “chaotic.”
“The front door was smashed in, everything had come down, the registers had been pushed back… there was extensive damage,” Mr Parmar said.
“We’re thinking about installing bollards.”
The incident was the first of its kind for the family, which has owned a number of supermarkets in the area over the years.
All up, Mr Parmar estimated about $35,000 worth of damage had been caused. It took seven hours to be clean-up and the supermarket was open for business that same morning.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Belle Nolan said the blue-coloured Klugar had been reported missing from Malvern East in April. It was found dumped in nearby Edgeware Court where police recovered it on Sunday afternoon.
“Whittlesea detectives are investigating and have released CCTV of a man they wish to speak to in relation to the incident,” she said.
“He is described as Caucasian, aged in his 20s or 30s and about 173-178cm tall with a solid build.”
He was wearing a black t-shirt, black tracksuit pants, a grey cap, runners and a black cloth covering his face at the time of the incident.
Anyone with any information about the incident or the man’s identity is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
