Thieves Stole $35,000 In Restaurant Break In
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Police say thieves broke through the wall of a Miami restaurant and stole a safe and surveillance equipment. They got away with thousands of dollars in cash.
Late Sunday night or early Monday morning, crooks broke into the Caribe Café in the 7100 block of West Flagler Street. Miami police said they gained access to the restaurant by breaking into a business next door and then cutting a hole in the wall.
"The owner was so sad because every people that come here feels like family," said Julie Perez who works at Caribe.
"I got scared, I was surprised," said Caribe Restaurant owner Juan Alvarado.
Once inside, the thieves took their time. Police said the thieves disassembled the alarm so it would not sound.
They stole all of the surveillance equipment, cash register drawers and walked off with the business's safe that was drilled into the floor. The safe contained approximately $35,000.
"The truth is they took a lot," Alvarado said.
Alvarado said the money was a week's worth of profits from all four Caribe locations.
"I think this must have been someone who knows the place because it's strange they broke in exactly where the safe was located."
"What we see here today is the work of someone that possibly knew the steps to take before they actually made their move and broke in," said Officer Kenia Reyes of the Miami Police Department.
"I really want to find the people who do that because the owner's a good man. I don't know why this happened," said Perez.
The same restaurant was burglarized earlier in the year when thieves stole wine, beer, and a computer.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Miami Police Department's Burglary Unit at (305) 603-6030 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471- TIPS (4877).
