Cigarette Gang Targets County

Source from:  thisislincolnshire.co.uk October 20, 2008 10/24/2008

A gang of cigarette thieves struck at three Lincolnshire shops. The three masked men burgled convenience stores in Billinghay, Bassingham and Stamford in the early hours of Monday morning. They then made their getaway in a Land Rover and were last seen heading towards Brant Broughton. The first store to be hit was the BP garage in Stamford at about 1am, an hour and a half later the Co-op in Church Street, Billinghay was hit and finally the Spar in High Street, Bassingham. Police spokesman Dick Holmes said: "It is believed that these three burglaries are linked, in each case three well built men wearing dark clothing and balaclavas were seen on CCTV, and cigarettes were stolen. "They then made their escape in a long wheel base Land Rover with a roofrack." Anyone with any information is asked to contact Lincolnshire Police on (01522) 882 222. For more details on the burglaries, see Tuesday's Echo. Enditem