Police appeal following series of burglaries at the weekend

Detective Sergeant Galbraith said: “Police received a report at approximately 2.20pm that a property had been broken into in the Sourhill area of Ballymena. A sum of cash and items of jewellery had been stolen.

“The suspect is described as wearing a baseball cap, grey coloured jogging bottoms, of medium build and approximately 5 foot 9 inches in height. He was observed jumping over a fence and getting into the rear of a black Audi Q5. The driver of the vehicle is described as having short dark hair, wearing a light coloured top with a blue mask.

“Police received another report of a break in in the Alandale Park, Eglinton area of Derry at approximately 5.30pm. The victim, who had been asleep, woke to find the male suspect standing in his doorway who was unknown to him. The suspect is described as being 6 feet tall, clean shaven with dark hair. The suspect left the property via the back door. The victim noticed that a black Audi Q5 was parked directly across the street from his property. Two males then sped off in the vehicle. While nothing was taken, the victim was left extremely shaken by their ordeal.”

He continued: “A further report was received of a break-in in the Castle Park area around 5.40pm. The victim reported that that their property had been ransacked, however at this stage we are working to ascertain if anything has been taken. The victim is understandably distressed by this incident.

“Our enquiries are continuing and at this stage of the investigation we believe that all three incidents are linked. We are appealing to anyone who was in the areas at the times the incidents took place to contact detectives on 101 quoting reference number 1753 19/03/22 for the burglaries in Eglinton or 1183 19/03/22 for the burglary in Ballymena. We are keen to hear from anyone who may have captured the suspects on their dash-cam or CCTV which can assist our investigation.”

A report can also be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/

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