Spauldings, Clarendon:
THE PROPRIETORS OF the Sam Fo chain of supermarkets and wholesale in Spaldings, Clarendon, have been forced to close its wholesale store in Kellits because of continuous break-ins and at least one hold up by gunmen.
Managing Director of the Sam Fo group, Paul Lyn, told THE STAR that the decision to close the wholesale was difficult, as he and his family were only trying to help the poor, while providing products at affordable prices in that community.
Lyn noted that he decided to close the store on Tuesday, as he was no longer able to stand the cost of having to come up with money to replace goods stolen on at least four occasions since the start of his financial year, which comes to an end at the end of this month.
He pointed out that the latest break-in occurred between Sunday night and early Monday morning, during which more than 90 per cent of his stock at the wholesale was removed.
Lyn, in pointing out what occurred at the Kellits store, said that some time after 9 a.m. on Monday, he received a phone call from his manager who told him that the store had been broken into. Lyn said his manager told him that the locks on the doors of the store were opened and, on entering, he found that boxes of items were missing. He said that the entire building was ransacked, the cash register with money missing. The Croft's Hill police were summoned and they took photographs as well as fingerprints as they began their investigations.
Locks swapped
Lyn told THE STAR that personnel from his office were sent to carry out an assessment of the Kellits store and it revealed that there was no forced sign of entry to the building. He stated that he surmised that the locks might have been swapped, because the original keys for the facility were in safe keeping.
"My internal auditing team has gone there and they have reported to me that stock to the tune of just under $500,000 was removed by the robbers", he said.
He also noted that he has lost just under $2 million to break-ins and hold ups. Mr. Lyn said the goods were insured.
Meanwhile, Lyn disclosed that he was currently searching for a former manager, whom he believes can help the Clarendon police in their investigations. "We have been to his home, the police have a report, so they are looking for him as well, but we have not been able to find him. It is possible that this incident is connected with him and the police would like to talk to him," said Lyn.
Checks with the Croft's Hill police confirmed that the Sam Fo Wholesale at Kellits was in fact broken into on a number of occasions and that large quantities of goods were removed. The investigating officer in charge of the latest break-in was not available when THE STAR contacted the station yesterday, but an officer who was on duty said investigations were being carried out with urgency.
The closure of the Sam Fo Wholesale at Kellits means that at least six employees will be out of work, Lyn said.
