Bondi’s ‘back door bandit’ at large
The back doors of Bondi remain unsecure after a string of 15 unsolved robberies of commercial premises. The incidents are being attributed to a man working alone – dubbed the ‘back door bandit’. To date, police operations to catch the thief have been unsuccessful.
“Someone has just moved in,” said Detective Sergeant Michael Todd of Waverley Police.
The assailant targets cash left overnight in the tills of cafes, restaurants and retail outlets. He leaves behind other valuable items such as laptops and machinery, and works quickly. He follows a pattern: breaking, entering and exiting through the back door. At Skinny Dip Cafe, the bandit busted through a back window.
His string of robberies has stretched along Bondi Rd, Campbell Pde, Hall St and Glenayr Ave. They are continuing: at least three premises succumbed to his ‘hit and run’ sting last week.
He usually pounces in the early hours of the morning, although the clearest CCTV footage was taken of the man when he broke through the back door of Zinzana Mediterranean Foods at 4.30pm. It showed a slim Caucasian man in his late twenties, sporting a crew cut. He was wearing loose, black shorts and an orange shirt.
The manager of Zinzana, Moshe Kahlan, said: “He stole a couple of hundred in coins but left $25 in notes on the floor as he left.”
Police accessed Zinzana’s CCTV footage after numerous bungled attempts last Saturday. The footage has now been deleted and the best publicly accessible images of the man are printed here.
Police have now increased investigations, according to cafe owners, as the CCTV footage shows conclusive pictures of the bandit.
Operations are in place to catch him, Detective Sergeant Todd said.
“He may have no prior knowledge (of the premises)… There are a couple of places he’s been where there’s been no cash. It’s been luck of the draw,” he said.
Apart from small amounts of cash, he has stolen a set of butcher knives from Kosher Meats and a shiny, black ‘Supadry’ jacket from Greens Cafe.
Dan Mashman, part-owner of Gertrude and Alice Cafe, said: “He’s pretty low. He stole a Breast Cancer Research charity box with $200 in it.”
Owners of commercial premises with back doors are remaining cautious. After 15 robberies, and a police operation just starting to gather steam, the hunt is now on for the ‘back door bandit’, who remains at large.
– By Matt Khoury
