‘Like a fast bowler’: thieves run-up before smash and grab at Hanuman restaurant

Thieves pelted rocks through the glass door of Hanuman in Darwin to gain access and steal booze. SEE THE VIDEO

THIEVES have pelted rocks through the front door of a popular Darwin restaurant in a smash-and-grab early on Saturday morning.

CCTV vision from the restaurant in Mitchell St shows three males approaching the main entrance and, after a quick assessment, stepping back and throwing rocks into the glass door before entering the premises.

Vision from inside the restaurant then shows the three men jumping the counter before moving out of shot, then scrambling back over the bar carrying bottles of alcohol.

The scenario was played out twice more throughout the evening, with the men returning at 4.41am and 5.06am after the initial 3.05am break and enter.

Several dozen bottles of alcohol were believed to have been taken and the damage to the door was in the hundreds of dollars.

The third entry about 5am was believed to have involved up to seven people fleeing with bottles of alcohol.

Hanuman owner Jimmy Shu said the restaurant, which has a history of being targeted by thieves in search of alcohol, had been untouched for 18 months.

“These guys were from out of town because the locals know the way around the bar,” he said.

Mr Shu compared one of the men to a cricket fast bowler, walking back to his mark before hurling a rock and smashing the restaurant’s glass doors. At least eight rocks were thrown at the door.

The restaurant became a magnet for thieves several years ago, suffering up to nine break-ins during a six month stretch up to 2020.

The break-ins stopped after a chain was installed in front of the door that made it more difficult for intruders to access the premises. However, the chain breached fire regulations and Mr Shu removed it last week.

“A week after I removed the chain and we’ve had a break-in. It’s very disturbing,” he said. As well as the cost of dozens of bottles of grog, inflated insurance premiums caused by repeated breaks and a plan to install extra CCTV in the restaurant will add to the costs.

When Mr Shu was alerted to the break-in by the owner of Discovery nightclub at about 5.15am, it took two-and-a-half hours for police to arrive. “I don’t think they want to talk too much about it, it’s embarrassing to them,” he said.

“The security guys with the blue shirts in the little golf buggy passed by. What are those guys looking for?”

Senior Segeant Robin Kidney said no arrests had been made. “NT Police are investigating a number of unlawful entries on the same property in Mitchell Street in the early hours of Saturday morning,” Sgt Kidney said.