CALGARY — A southeast Calgary auto dealership is hoping the public will help track down a group of thieves who broke into their office and made off with five vehicles and 23 sets of keys.
CCTV footage shows a person wearing a hat and mask climb through the window of the Country Auto Credit dealership on 51st Street S.E. just before 5 a.m. Saturday.
Over the course of more than two hours, the person rummages through the office, steals keys to vehicles, takes shoes and a jacket, then helps drive multiple vehicles away from the lot.
Employees showed up later in the morning to find the gate open and vehicles unaccounted for. They called police and looked through the surveillance footage to watch the group of three or four people carry out the thefts.
“We want them to get caught. We don’t want this to happen to any other dealership or any other business in the city,” said Elmo Sayed, general manager and part owner of the dealership.
The group made off with five vehicles, including a Ford Mustang and Cadillac Escalade truck, and Sayed says he worries they may return to try to steal more vehicles with the sets of keys that were also taken.
“They are specialists. They knew what they were doing and come with experience and multiple people,” he said.
Calgary police confirm they responded to the business on Saturday morning and are investigating the thefts.
Footage from surveillance cameras inside the business clearly shows at least two people climbing in and out of the office window. Falling snow covered the exterior cameras, making it difficult to see exactly how many people were involved at the lot.
“We want justice. We want this to stop,” said Sayed. With several vehicles and sets of keys stolen and with damage done to the gate and window of the office, Sayed believes the ordeal will cost at least $50,000.
