Within seconds, the door to Roksana’s bookstore was broken open. A minute later, the thugs left the scene with a loot of several thousand euros. Among the stolen goods, packets of cigarettes, increasingly targeted in this kind of burglary.
Everything happened on November 7 in the early morning in Huy. Roksana and Dhanu’s bookstore was robbed by “5 individuals” in the early morning. A few days later, Roksana tells us that she is devastated. With this burglary, she experienced one of the greatest anguish of her life.
“We live upstairs. A little before 4 a.m., we are woken up by our barking dog”, recalls the shopkeeper. It was the store’s alarm that, when it went off, alerted the Jack Russel. “We opened the window and saw the burglars. We started screaming”, tells us Roksana. Very quickly, the couple goes down to the ground floor. But it is already too late. The store is upside down, shards of glass litter the floor.
“They robbed the store”, Roksana breathes. It is via the surveillance images that the couple discovers the methodology of the burglars. “They broke the two locks and the two iron bars that held the front door”, says the manager. Only 1 minute and 1 second will have been enough for them. After jumping over the counter, the thieves grabbed the cash register. They also stole large jars of tobacco and around twenty cartons of cigarettes. The loot amounts to several thousand euros.
It’s an easy commodity to hand over to the black market
“We immediately called the police. And followingwards, we rushed to put things away to open. Because not opening for a day means a lot of money wasted”, says Roksana. Installed in January 2019, the couple has just experienced their first burglary. After having long looked for a business to buy, he took over this bookstore which had existed since 1956. But since their installation, they denounce a certain insecurity. “This city is a disaster. The police are on the streets all the time. People are vandalizing cars, houses or mailboxes”exclaims Roksana.
On the side of Prodipresse, the professional organization of independent French-speaking booksellers in Belgium, we have not observed an upsurge in thefts in bookstores. However, it is clear that very often, the thugs target the tobacco stocks present in these stalls. “It’s an easy commodity to put back on the black market”explains Xavier Deville, President of Prodipresse.
Alarm and smoke cannons
Should I store my inventory elsewhere? This is not really the solution according to the president. “We recommend instead to put smoke cannons in addition to the alarm. This is what deters thieves the most”, emphasizes Xavier Deville. These smoke cannons have the particularity of obstructing a room in a few seconds. “At 15 centimeters, it’s big fog. It becomes impossible to find your way around”, explains Xavier Deville. The president of Prodipresse also advises traders to call on prevention and security advisers present in police areas. “They can provide a free risk analysis, and identify areas that need to be more secure”he says.
For their part, the couple contacted their insurer in order to set up the file and thus be compensated as soon as possible. Security has also been enhanced. Roksana and Dhanu remain terrified today by this burglary. So much so that, since the tragedy, “my husband sleeps in the store,” says the manager. For Xavier Deville, there is no doubt that burglary is a terrible ordeal. “It’s horror, because following that, we are no longer sure of anything”, he concedes.
Note that a few weeks ago, we were talking to you regarding the worry of certain inhabitants of a district of Huy faced with the increase in acts of violence linked to drug trafficking:
