MARGATE, Fla. — Margate police are investigating two early morning burglaries that were reported at smoke shops in the city.
According to police, the first burglary was reported at about 3 a.m. at Vapor Shark, located at 5514 West Sample Road.
Police said officers arrived and found that the front window of the business had been smashed and items were taken from inside the store.
About an hour later, around 4 a.m., officers were dispatched to a second burglary at the Sky World Smoke Shop, located at 7460 Royal Palm Blvd.
Police said officers again found the front window of the business smashed and several boxes of vapes scattered throughout the parking lot.
Surveillance video obtained by Local 10 News shows two masked men wearing hoodies smashing their way into the Sky World Smoke Shop using a hammer.
The video captures one of the suspects breaking through a window before taking hundreds of dollars worth of high-priced vape pens, according to investigators.
“It’s ridiculous,” one customer, Desmond Moore, said. “We just walked up and were like, what’s going on? And he said they broke in. I guess vapes are that serious to people that they got to break into stores to take them.”
Employees told Local 10 News it was the second time the same business had been targeted in a week. The first break-in happened through the front door, and the latest through a window behind the counter.
Noon report:
A boarded-up window was left behind at Vapor Shark, where the business owner also shared images of the thieves.
One suspect was seen wearing a black mask and white hoodie, while the other appeared to be the same man wearing a blue sweatshirt and carrying a plastic bin used in the other burglary — about three miles away.
Margate crime scene technicians responded to both locations and are working to determine if the same suspects are responsible for both crimes.
No other details were immediately released.
Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call the Margate Police Department or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
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