Teens steal $20k worth of cigarettes in brazen smash and grab at Harristown newsagent

A police search is under way after a group of teenager forced entry to a Harristown news agent and stole bucket loads of cigarettes before fleeing in a stolen Mercedes.

It took just over a minute for three teenagers to smash open a Harristown newsagent’s door and empty the smoke cabinet and flee in a stolen Mercedes Benz.

Now a police search is under way and investigators have asked anyone who observes the vehicle to come forward.

Toowoomba Detective Senior Sergeant Paul McCusker said the offenders forced entry to the Tower Shopping Centre newsagent about 10.30pm on Sunday.

They did so by throwing a large rock through the front glass door and crawling in.

CCTV footage of the incident shows two boys and a girl run to the smoke cabinet, force it open with a hammer and empty the contents into a crate.

They fled after about a minute but not before stopping to take a few drinks from a fridge and scribbling a tag on the door.

A search is under way for two boys and a girl who stole about $20,000 worth of cigarettes from the Tower Shopping Centre newsagent.

Police arrived at the scene within minutes after a neighbour witnessed the break in and phoned Triple-o.

It is the fourth time the store has been broken into in the past year.

Sadly the owner will be left with the bill for the stolen smokes as cigarettes are not covered by their insurance.

Sgt McCusker said the offenders fled in a silvery grey 2017 Mercedes Benz C300 Series sedan that was stolen from a Blue Mountain Heights home between 11-11.30pm on Saturday.

“The offender stole the keys from inside the house,” he said.

Police have linked the vehicle to multiple property offences over the past two days and Sgt McCusker asked the public to keep an eye out for it.

“Anyone who observes the 2017 silvery grey Mercedes Bens which may be parked in the street should ring the police,” he said.