Fort Lauderdale has seen a troubling string of burglaries targeting local smoke shops, and the community is on high alert. According to employees of Snoopy’s Smoke Shop, a business that has been hit twice in a single week, there might be a connection between their incidents and other recent crimes in the area. “Either it’s the same people or they got the idea from the people that did it at the other places, ’cause it’s the same thing,” an anonymous employee speculated in an interview with 7News.
During the first burglar at Snoopy’s, a trio forcefully entered through the front door, making away with merchandise exceeding $1,000. Running a business to feed a family, a man-made second burglary happened last Saturday, which involved the smashing of a window and two burglars pillaging as much product as they could carry, as a woman told 7News indignantly. Similar methods and tools have been reported in break-ins at other shops, including Sky World Smoke Shop and Vapor Shark in Margate, heightening the suspicion that the burglaries might be the work of the same individuals or a coordinated group.
The repetitive nature of these crimes has rattled business owners, who are already grappling with the challenges of maintaining their livelihoods. Surveillance video captured at Snoopy’s Smoke Shop and obtained by CBS News Miami showed thieves using a rubber bucket to collect items, swiftly clearing the shelves in about a minute. The damages were not just material; the owners’ sense of security was also shattered, a feeling shared by businesses across Broward County…