Lyttelton supermarket owner back behind the checkout after local break-in spree

SuperValue Lyttelton owner Rob de Thier estimates at least $3000 in product was stolen in the burglary. Photo / Star News

Lyttelton SuperValue’s owner is back working again after his shop was targeted, among others, in an overnight spree of thefts.

Rob De Thier spoke of his annoyance towards the thousands of dollars in theft and damage at his supermarket, broken into at 2am yesterday.

Neighbouring shops on London St, including a sushi outlet and a pub were also targeted, De Thier confirmed.

De Thier was alerted to the break-in by his alarm company. He watched remotely on his CCTV cameras as several intruders darted out of the shop with stolen products.

As it turned out, police were already hot on their trail. De Thier said “three guys” across the road were partying when they saw the break-ins.

Local police were already hot on the offenders' trail as witnesses saw the burglaries. Photo / George Heard

“When the police arrived, the guys were yelling out to the police saying ‘they went that way’, [the police] were only 30 seconds behind,” he said.

Lyttelton/Sumner station Sergeant Anna Partridge said by the time police reached the offenders, they’d already abandoned their car and fled.

A cash register and cigarettes were found in the car. A police dog team tracked the offenders without success.

“Police are following strong lines of inquiry to locate the offenders,” she said.

While De Thier hasn’t completed a stocktake of the shop yet, he reckons at least $3000 of products were stolen - including cigarettes, vape gear and alcohol.

Offenders also caused thousands of dollars in damage to the security glass at the front of the store, which De Thier said was entertaining to watch being broken down by offenders.

“The first guy who arrived threw something at the glass; it bounced off and smacked him in the head,” he said.

The supermarket owner is thankful none of his staff or other members of the public were around at the time of the break-in. His next concern has been boarding up the shop to continue serving customers.

Police confirmed by the time they reached the offenders, they’d already abandoned their car and fled. Photo / Wayne Drought

He reckons the shop will be boarded up for three months before the glass is replaced.

“I was annoyed watching the CCTV footage,” he said.

“The dairy down the road got targeted about a week ago, I wonder if it was the same people and they realised the local police station isn’t manned 24-7 and they would have time up their sleeves.”

Police haven’t arrested anybody but are speaking to two people about the break-ins.

“[We] want to assure businesses and the public that we are monitoring the area, and are carrying out patrols to ensure the safety of our community,” said Partridge.

De Thier has managed the supermarket for eight years and said the area has never had serious crime issues besides car theft.

He’s applied to have bollards installed outside his shop to prevent the possibility of a ram raid, but noted it wouldn’t have helped yesterday morning.

“On the bright side, I’m glad it happened yesterday and not at the start of 2023, starting the new year off with something like that,” he said.

Partridge said the burglaries appear to be linked and inquiries are ongoing.