A shopowner revealed that he has reported over 100 robberies since opening his store – but no-one has ever been prosecuted.
Mohammad Sheikh, the owner of News Plus in Glasgow, says his shop has been targeted ‘every day’ by shoplifters since opening last November.
Not only have items been stolen, but the horrifying incidents have also included multiple assaults on his staff.
Shocking CCTV footage shows several moments where shameless yobs enter, as individuals and groups, and ransack his shop.
A portion of the video shows an individual dressed in red walk into the store and attempt to shove a member of staff out of the way.
As the brave shopkeeper continued to the store, the person holding a bat jumped over the counter, tearing down the perspex screen and a stand in the process.
Another clip shows a group of thugs entering the store and wreaking havoc as they reach behind the counter and hurl items everywhere.
In a separate incident, three youths brazenly swiped items directly in front of the shopkeeper, who was helpless to stop all of them from stealing.
Some could be seen simply walking into the store and helping themselves to items from the shelves, while others threw items at a staff member.
Yet, despite reporting all the incidents to the police, Mohammad said they ‘do nothing’ to catch culprits or prevent them from happening.
CCTV captures shoplifting taking place at News Plus on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
Mohammad Sheikh, the owner of News Plus in Glasgow , says his shop has been targeted ‘every day’ by shoplifters since opening last November
And exhausted from constantly dealing with the issues, the owner is unsure if he can continue with his business, having lost around £20,000 due to crime since opening.
He claims to have reported every single incident to the police, with over 100 reports filed in the past year, but has yet to see any action against any offenders.
‘They target us instead of the bigger shops because they have security guards and loads of staff, and we don’t,’ Mohammad said.
‘The police tell us we can’t touch them, can’t stop them, and can’t lock them in the store to await officers arriving.
‘The only advice police give us is to have two members of staff on all the time – we can’t afford to do that.
‘Even if we could, we could have ten staff in here and it wouldn’t make a difference because we’re powerless against them.’
Mohammad has owned shops in the city for over 20 years, but says this store is ‘the worst trouble he has ever had.’
‘I’m stressed all the time because the business is making a loss, my staff are not feeling safe at work,’ he said.
When asked if he would recommend opening a business on Sauchiehall Street to any other companies, Mohammad replied with a definite ‘no.’
And exhausted from constantly dealing with the issues, the owner is unsure if he can continue with his business, having lost around £20,000 due to crime since opening
‘No one should be going to work and not feeling safe.’
A shop staff member described the matter as ‘shocking’, divulging that thieves often steal hundreds of pounds worth of stuff at a time.
‘They even reach over or come behind the counter to steal vapes,’ they said.
‘There’s not a lot we can do to defend ourselves; you don’t know if they could be carrying a weapon, and it can be really scary.’
The ‘struggling’ store is open 24 hours a day, but the majority of incidents occur around 5 or 6pm.
There are ‘groups of young boys, between five and 10 at a time’, who are ‘repeat offenders’ that ‘must be known’ to the police, according to Mohammad.
‘We should be protected by the police, and they definitely aren’t right now, there’s not enough patrols and not enough police on the streets – there’s so much crime now.
‘We’ve done our job on our side by reporting them; now it’s in the police’s hands. They need to arrest them. That’s their job,’ he added.
‘They should be ashamed because they have done nothing for us.’
Recalling one time when tourists were browsing his store, the owner divulged that a ‘repeat offender’ came in and began to cause havoc.
‘The tourists just put everything down and left, what an advert for the city,’ sighed Mohammad.
When asked if he would recommend opening a business on Sauchiehall Street to any other companies, Mohammad replied with a definite ‘no.’
He has also been left concerned for the safety of his staff, and believes more needs to be done to curb violent crime in the city centre.
‘The city centre crime rate has gone up – it will create a bad image for Glasgow city centre and people won’t want to come anymore.
‘This is beyond shoplifting – this is robbery. These perpetrators should be arrested; otherwise, the problem will get worse,’ he said.
When asked if he would recommend opening a business on Sauchiehall Street to any other companies, Mohammad replied with a definite ‘no.’
‘There has been a failure to provide safety and security in the city centre and people are afraid.’
Inspector Jonathan Watters from Police Scotland said: ‘We are aware of recent incidents at this address and are liaising with the reporter to gather more detail on their concerns and address any issues raised.
‘Officers carry out high-visibility patrols throughout the city centre every day to deter criminality and provide public reassurance. We also work closely with businesses, security staff and local residents on crime prevention.
‘A dedicated Retail Crime Taskforce has recently been set up in Glasgow to further enhance our enforcement and intelligence gathering for retail crimes, and support the prevention work we carry out with retailers throughout the city.’
