April 18, 2016 · Team HG
In recent weeks, there have been increasingly frequent burglaries at cafes in Groningen. The damage is extensive, and in one of the affected establishments, items were found that have been seized for investigation. The police are not yet calling it a wave of burglaries.
According to the Groningen Police, there appear to be no similarities yet in the methods of breaking in and the times. The burglaries are being examined individually, and no pattern can be recognized yet, reports the Dagblad van het Noorden.
Two weeks ago, no fewer than three different cafes fell victim to burglary attempts in a single night: Café Aan de Amstel, Café de Klikspaan and the Waterloo BarIn addition to the contents of the cash registers and slot machines, the thieves also took spirits and targeted the cigarette vending machines, which they were unable to open.
Café Aan de Amstel
Kim Boonstra estimates the damage to her café at Veemarktstraat 101 at €7,000. All the doors were broken open and a huge mess was left behind. The cigarette vending machine is irreparably destroyed. Boonstra thinks she knows who the burglars were; recently, the barmaid had suddenly been visited by a number of younger boys at the bar whom she had not seen in her establishment before.
The three cafes turn out not to be the only victims. Hospitality establishments in the Oosterparkwijk, on the Oostersingel, the Overwinningsplein, and in Vinkhuizen have also recently been visited by criminal groups.
In one of the cafes, a bank card, identity card, and driver's license belonging to the same person were found following the burglary. These items have been seized for investigation; the Groningen Police are not making any further statements regarding this at this time.
One of the affected businesses states that it involves a group of young boys from Utrecht who come to Groningen on weekends to party and then break in.
For Waterloo Bar at Verlengde Oosterweg 51, this is already the third time that damage from a burglary needs to be repaired. Boonstra also reports that Café Aan de Amstel was previously hit by an attempted burglary.
