General News
6 January, 2020
Business owners fed up by crime.
Mareeba business owners fed up by crime engulfing the CBD.
Owners of Mareeba Yamaha, Lucy and Kevin Dunn say they are fed up with the increasing crime that is engulfing the Mareeba CBD after their Yamaha Motorcycle store in Byrne St was broken into for the third time in three weeks.
Lucy admits that after 25 years in business, the break-ins were leaving a bad taste in her mouth “We just don’t know what to expect when we get to work anymore. We've been in business for over 25 years and we are fed up. With three break-ins in three weeks, we feel like just closing up and walking away.”
The first break-in was on the 13th of December with another break-in the very next night. The latest break-in happened about 3.30 am last night after thieves broke in through the Spearman Diesel Workshop.
Even though the store has CCTV, Kevin admits it’s not a strong enough deterrent “We have footage of these criminals looking at themselves on the TV and they just don’t care. CCTV isn’t a strong enough deterrent, as all they get is a slap on the wrist.”
The Dunns say that while local Police have been fantastic, it’s the law that needs to change “The Police have been so good, they were here straight away taking fingerprints, but when someone does get charged, they get a slap on the wrist or they are back on the street in under a week”
Last night four motorbikes were stolen, but the Duuns are still missing thousands of dollars in merchandise, “We got the bikes back, but some of them will have to be ridden off, due to damage. So far the bill is over 15,000 dollars in damage and stolen property, there’s still plenty of merchandise like helmets, gloves and backpacks that we’ve never recovered.”
The break-in at Yamaha follows two other break-ins overnight, including a residence on Walsh Street and another on Mason Street. The houses were broken into between 3 am and 5 am and handbags and mobile phones were stolen. Police say that at this stage the break-ins are not related and ask anyone with information to contact crime stoppers on by calling 1800 333 000 or crimestoppersqld.com.au
