“Are you coming this time?” Faizan Bakrawala, the shopowner of Unique Mobile Shop in Mount Roskill, asked the police over the phone. He waited for a response after his store was broken into in the early hours of 27 May 2025.
Faizan arrived at his electronics shop at 7.30 am to find the shutter locks broken, lifted, and the counter glass shattered.
“Expensive phones, laptops, watches and over a dozen pairs of headphones have been stolen,” he shared.
CCTV footage from the next-door eatery showed four masked men breaking and entering the shop.
“I have suffered a loss of approximately $20k,” Faizan estimated.
He says the police called him twice – at 9.45 am and again at 3.30 pm – and advised him to share the images and information with them.
Photos: Supplied
“The burglars were wearing hoodies and gloves, so police advised they might not be able to send a team to collect evidence,” Faizan recalled.
Detective Senior Sergeant Anthony Darvill, Auckland City West CIB, told The Indian Weekender that the police are in the early stages of investigating the burglary.
“The burglary on Richardson Road was reported just before 10am on May 27, but occurred sometime overnight between May 26 and 27,” he said.
“A scene of crime officer (SOCO) will attend a burglary as soon as possible. In this case, a SOCO attended the business on Tuesday night,” Detective Senior Sergeant Anthony Darvill added.
However, Faizan said, “What is the point of visiting the site late at night?”
This is not the first time his shop has been broken into.
Opened in June 2023, this is the second time Unique Mobile Shop has been broken into.
“The first time the burglary happened in October 2023, the police did not come,” Faizan told The Indian Weekender.
Faizan said what disappointed him even more was that two police officers had come to grab a coffee from the bakery next door but did not attend to the matter.
“I called the police again to tell them there were two officers next door while I stood there with a broken shutter,” he said.
“The officer on the phone told me the case wasn’t assigned to them and they wouldn’t get involved.”
While Faizan is still estimating the total loss of the items, he says he will have to “start over, once again.”
The police also said that at any crime scene, an assessment is made as to what avenues of enquiry are available to investigators.
“Given the matter is ongoing, we won’t be commenting on specifics at this stage.”
Anyone with information that could assist police can update them online now or call 105.
Please use the reference number 250527/7596.
Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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