Residents of a highrise condo on Southoaks Crescent are warning others in the area to be on guard following two break-ins to their building in less than a week.
Last Tuesday, at 4:30 a.m. three unknown suspects, two men and a woman, broke into the condo building in the 6000 block of Southoaks Crescent. Through surveillance footage, it was determined the thieves opened the condo’s security door using a mastercode to hack into the system, Raymond Wang told the NOW.
“They had no fear, they just walked in,” Wang said.
The thieves then broke into the building’s mailroom and took everything from the residents’ mailboxes. They were in and out of the building in five minutes, according to Wang.
The following day, a security company was brought in to reprogram the security door system, deleting all entry codes and changing the default password.
But that didn’t stop the thieves from returning.
On Sunday, at about 4:10 a.m., the suspects returned to the building. While the security system had been reset, the thieves still managed to gain entry.
“They just magically touched something on their phone, and without touching the intercom, they just walked right through,” Wang said. “We actually posted photos on the wall after the first break-in and still they had no fear. They do whatever they want.”
This time, not only did they steal from residents’ mailboxes, they also entered the underground parking area and broke into eight storage lockers, stealing a variety of items, according to Wang.
Residents of the condo contacted the Burnaby RCMP following both break-ins.
“We just want to warn other highrises in Burnaby. I’m sure they’re going to do this repeatedly, everywhere,” he said.
The strata has since hired a security guard to patrol the entrance, hoping this will dissuade any other thieves from breaking in, Wang said.
Several other buildings in the area have also reported break-ins recently, including another building in the 6000 block of Southoaks Crescent, which was broken into the weekend before, and Balmoral Street, which was broken into on Sunday.
Anyone with information on the break-ins or the identity of the suspects is asked to contact Burnaby RCMP at 604-294-7922.
