Palmerston NT crime: Fresh Point Bellamack, Palates of India hit hard by brazen young criminals

Two hospitality venues in Palmerston have been ransacked to the tune of about $20,000, with incredible CCTV stills illustrating at least one devil-may-care youth offender wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet.

Ankle monitors were no deterrent for a group of youth offenders who engaged in an orgy of destruction at Fresh Point Bellamack and Palates of India at the weekend. The youth closest to the camera appears to be wearing one. Picture: Supplied

A Top End hospitality boss says the true cost of a brazen break-in at two of his venues – perpetrated by young criminals, at least one of whom was visibly wearing an ankle monitor – will not be known until he calls his insurer on Monday morning.

Jazz Walia told this masthead his Bellamack ventures, Palates of India and Fresh Point Co. Bellamack, were ransacked in the hours before opening on Saturday morning.

“[It] was really bad on Friday night,” Mr Walia, who also owns Fresh Point Co. cafes at Nightcliff and Parap, as well as Beef & Bar (formerly Urban Spice Pantry Restaurant) at Darwin Waterfront, said.

Fresh Point Co. boss Jazz Walia. Picture: File

Mr Walia said a group of youth offenders – three initially, although he claimed others later took advantage of the smashed doors – stole iPads, alcohol, and “damaged a lot of things inside” his two businesses.

“They did over $20,000 in damage,” he said.

Part of their modus operandi also included damaging the internal CCTV cameras in a bid to bury evidence of their crimes.

Yet for at least one of them, and possibly more, it’s unlikely their identity will remain a secret from police for long – incredibly, in two supplied CCTV stills from undamaged cameras, an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet is clearly visible.

Two youth offenders casing apartments at Flynn Cct, Bellamack overnight on Friday. One appears to be holding a hammer, while the other is clearly wearing an ankle monitoring device. Picture: Supplied

Ankle monitors are typically fitted on persons either on bail or serving their sentence in the community, indicating this is not the first rodeo for the young criminals depicted wearing them.

In another still, understood to be from outside an upper-level apartment at the Flynn Cct site, one of the young thieves can be seen grasping what appears to be a hammer.

Mr Walia claimed the youths “tried to climb up the pipes into apartments, as there was no access for them to break in”.

Ankle monitors were no deterrent for a group of youth offenders who engaged in an orgy of destruction at Fresh Point Bellamack and Palates of India over the weekend. Picture: Supplied

He praised his employees for swinging into action on Saturday morning to clean up the mess, meaning there was no loss of trade.

“Our staff are really good, they managed to clean the mess out in time,” Mr Walia said.

Asked how much he expected his businesses would be out of pocket after the insurance claim played out, Mr Walia said he had another anxious 24 hours to wait.

“I will find that out tomorrow [Monday],” he said.

Originally published as Palmerston NT crime: Fresh Point Bellamack, Palates of India hit hard by brazen young criminals