Police are on a manhunt for the perpetrators of a recent rash of burglaries at local businesses that follow a recurrent break-and-entry pattern.
Four small shops standing side by side in the Ajijic business strip located across the road from Plaza Bugambilias were burglarized last weekend sometime between closing time on Saturday afternoon and opening hours Monday morning.
In all four cases, the burglars gained entry through holes knocked in the back walls.
The businesses included a health food store, a bulk outlet for disposable diapers and sanitary goods, a swimming pool supply outfit and an optometry shop. For the amount of time and effort involved in breaking through the brick wall, the thieves made off with slim pickings. Reported losses included a laptop computer, about 2,000 pesos in petty cash and six rolls of toilet paper.
Proprietors of the same establishments had bricked up the small rear windows of each store following similar break-ins in mid-January. The hole-in-wall mode of entry was also employed in a series of break-ins at central Ajijic businesses reported last fall and the burglary of the Animal Shelter in Riberas del Pilar in early February.
In response to the growing problem for the local business community, the Chapala police department is launching special operations in coordination with state and federal police to increase after-dark vigilance and identify and capture the criminals. Federal police gendarmes also arranged a special meeting, held at the local Chamber of Commerce office, on March 12, to put entrepreneurs on alert and advise them on precautionary measures.
The authorities are asking all residents to keep their eyes and ears open for the sounds of hammering at odd hours and other suspicious behavior that might be signs of burglaries in progress. Tips may be reported to police headquarters at telephone 765-4444 or the state’s 066 emergency hotline.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect crime. Citizens can be very helpful in supporting our efforts to capture criminals in the act,” says Chapala police chief Moisés Torres. ”I’d rather respond to four or five false alarms in a day than a single crime after it is consummated.”