Police believe three break-ins to stores in Dundee may be linked.
An attempt was made to break-in to Spar, on Glamis Road, just before 1am on Friday.
The would-be-thief fled after the store’s alarm sounded.
Two stores in the Charleston area of Dundee were then robbed of quantities of cigarettes and alcohol during the early morning blitz.
Crooks forced their way into a shop on Brownhill Road shortly after 2am and helped themselves to alcohol and cigarettes.
The same items were then stolen from a Best One store on Craigmount Road at around 4am.
One worker at the store confirmed she had been alerted to the robbery at 4.30am.
The employee said it is unclear at this stage how much stock has been taken.
She said: “I don’t think they just randomly decided to do this.
“I think they were in and out quickly when the alarm went off because they could have gone for the till.
“There’s stuff gone but I won’t know how much until they do the stock take.
“They’ve used wire cutters and bolt cutters to get in.”
CCTV footage from one of the shops shows three male suspects.
The first was wearing a black cap, a grey jumper with a large Adidas logo, and light grey jogging bottoms.
The second was wearing a grey hoodie and white bottoms. The third was wearing a dark boilersuit and a dark hooded top.
A police spokesperson said: “All three are being treated as linked, although the possibility does exist that they are separate incidents.
“If anyone has any information which could help our enquiries, please call 101 or speak to any Police officer. Also, information can be given anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Our reference number is CR/25426/17.”
