A store owner is calling on the public’s help to identify a young person allegedly involved in a smash and grab at his store.

MobileZone in Sydenham was targeted by five youths in the early hours of Tuesday morning, as they used a wheel spanner to break through the front window of the Colombo Street shop.

Store owner Talvinder Singh said he is hoping someone will recognise the youth wearing a black hoodie with distinctive neon yellow writing.

The store’s intruder alarm went off at 2:36am and as Singh lives less than a kilometre from the store he was there within three minutes of the alarm activating.

“Police response was very quick. They arrived about the same time as me but the robbers were in and out in less than 60 seconds,” Singh said.

Singh praises the effectiveness of the fog cannon which kicked into action and activated the alarm on his phone.

“I immediately checked my cameras and could see them entering through the smashed glass. If the fog cannon wasn’t there, they could have taken more of our customers’ devices which we had repaired and were sitting on the technician’s desk,” he said.

“Unfortunately police can’t do much with these young offenders as our justice system is very weak when dealing with them.

“My message for the parents of these thugs is to hand them over to police so authorities can deal with them and appropriate support agencies can provide rehabilitation to these young offenders. They don’t deserve to be out in the community until they have changed their behaviour and become law-abiding citizens like most of us,” Singh said.

“As an already struggling small business this is just heartbreaking for me. Something has to be done to stop this.”

NZ Police were alerted to the burglary in the early hours of Tuesday morning and their enquiries are continuing.