Eliot Mahlase
Burglars have come up with a new way to gain entry to residential and business properties, Brooklyn police said this week.
Spokeswoman Captain Colette Weilbach said that several burglaries during the December holiday were committed after the culprits had tampered with the electricity box of the premises concerned.
They switched off the electricity, causing the battery of the alarm at the property to run down. This paved the way for them to enter the targeted house or business unhindered.
“One incident was fortunately prevented when one businessman contacted the police when he received a notification on his cell phone that there was an electrical power failure at his business,” Weilbach said.
The police opened the electrical box and discovered that some of the main electrical switches had been switched off.
Closed circuit television footage showed how men in a red Toyota Corolla stopped at the premises in broad daylight. The suspects broke the box open, switched off the electricity and replaced the padlock with one of their own.
Weilbach said burglaries are mostly reported after a weekend due to faulty alarms.
She advised business and home owners to check their alarm systems regularly. Where possible, such systems should be linked to cell phones.
Suspicious activities could be reported to the police by phoning the 10111. Brooklyn police station’s 24-hour number is 012-366-1735/6.
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