Two men have since been arrested and remain in police custody
Shocking CCTV footage captures the moment a gang targeted a popular Belfast city centre coffee shop in the latest in a series of break-ins affecting hospitality businesses.
The footage shows the suspects pushing a wheelie bin up to the front of Jukō on Gloucester Street before using it to gain access.
One of the men can then be seen repeatedly kicking the shop’s front window until it gives way, allowing him to climb inside.
Once inside, the intruder is seen grabbing the shop’s tip jar before attempting to force open the till. Moments later, the intruder alarm sounds, prompting the suspect to flee back out through the smashed window before making off.
The incident is the latest in a spate of similar attacks on hospitality businesses across Belfast city centre, with café and restaurant owners increasingly raising concerns about overnight break-ins and the impact they are having on already struggling businesses.
Police confirmed that two men, aged 38 and 32, have since been arrested in connection with the burglary.
Speaking to Belfast Live, co-owner of Jukō, Shane McGann, described how he had been on holiday in Porto when he was alerted to the break-in.
“I got the phone call from the security company when I was in Porto last night, so I was lying in bed waiting on the alarm to go to the airport, and the company rang to tell me the alarm was going off, so I checked the cameras remotely and seen somebody had broken in, so then I had to try and ring everybody in Belfast to try and get it sorted out, but all I was thinking about when I was flying home was the impact of this,” he said.
“I just don’t think when people do things like this that they really contemplate that this has a much wider impact than getting away with a few pounds.”
While the total of what the pair made off with is currently unknown, Shane believes that they may have made off with a potentially substantial amount of cash.
“It looks like they have used a screwdriver to break in through the hatch window. They’ve jumped in, smashed a lot of stuff on their way in and then started by rummaging through the tips jar.
“The tips had just been split, so there were envelopes there for the staff, so it was a bit more than just a bit of loose change. Unfortunately, they also managed to rip the till out of the drawer and got away with that.
“We haven’t yet been able to verify how much they got away with, but it could be a relatively substantial amount of cash. Although thankfully, we’re not a cash-heavy business, so it wasn’t the worst.
Shane added that the break-in will have a wider impact on the business, which has been forced to miss out on a day of trading.
“We have had to close today, so that is a day’s worth of trade lost. Then there are the repairs on top of that and the money that is now missing from the till.
“We’ve also got staff that are due in today, food that was due to be sold today and we are having to figure out how to minimise the impact that it has on us.”
Shane said that the break-in has caused a massive concern for them, having happened so close to the Fleadh and has forced him and his business partner to rethink how they will operate next week.
“I know there has been a lot of talk about the state of the city centre just before the Fleadh, and for us, that’s obviously a massive concern. We’ve licensed Jukō from the end of this week, so we’re turning it into a pop-up pub, but we’ve now got to completely rethink how we operate next week.”
Inspector Jackson said: “Shortly after 2:35am, it was reported that entry was gained to a property in the area and a sum of money was taken during the incident.
“The men were subsequently arrested on suspicion of burglary. They remain in police custody at this time.
“Our enquiries are ongoing, and police would appeal to anyone who has any information which might assist to contact us using our witness appeal form at https://reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals, quoting reference 129 27/07/26, or to call us on 101.
“Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”
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