The owners of the sports supplements company is calling for information and also warning other firms to be vigilant
Police are hunting brazen thieves who are believed to have used a lorry to help them swipe thousands of pounds worth of stock from a Hull business in the dead of night. Staff at health firm Discount Supplements went to the warehouse on Sunday and were shocked to discover someone had cut through metal warehouse cladding to get inside – and a closer look inside revealed destroyed and empty shelves.
The company sells bodybuilding and sports supplements from its Clay Street base, close to the city centre, where stock is held in its large warehouse next to its offices, from which it is being shipped out to customers. Yet when they watched CCTV footage, they said they could see piles of their protein bars, capsules, softgels and whey powders being taken by intruders, who loaded up a lorry with the stolen goods before driving away.
Now the company are urging other businesses to keep close scrutiny over their security systems, saying the break-in has deeply impacted workers, leaving them shaken and facing significant operational and financial challenges. The firm says £60,000 worth of goods has been taken, which represents up to 15% of their entire stock and a devastating loss for the company.
Discount Supplements and its nine-strong team of workers is an employee-owned business, meaning the theft has directly harmed the livelihoods of its worker-owners. Marketing director Adam Oxley says the team believes they were broken into in what appears to be an organised crime operation, and is urging anyone with information to come forward.
Adam said: “A member of staff went to the warehouse on Sunday and saw there were a few things amiss, and saw that the cladding had been cut and one of the aisles had been decimated. Looking at the CCTV footage, a car’s come on the Saturday night at about 10.10pm and someone’s taken out one of our CCTV cameras and then left. Then a different car has come with a different person. And around 1.30pm on Sunday a big lorry arrives – and that’s when they’ve broken in and taken everything in the lorry.
“I think it was really organised. You can see them wandering around the warehouse with torches, and at 3.15am they actually take some of our trolleys to put the products in, and around 3.50am the lorry leaves, as well as cars one and two. They were actually in there for about two and a half hours.
“We’re all devastated really. We’re more annoyed with the fact they were so nonchalant about it as they’re walking around the warehouse. They were in no rush, just taking their time.
“It just looks like another day to them. You just feel a bit sick that they’ve managed to break in and do this to us. It’s not like an opportunist doing this – the way they have scouted it at 10pm and then come back shows it’s really organised.
“We’ve had the police in and the CSI team, taking pictures and interviewing people, so the necessary steps are being taken. We want to make sure everyone has their businesses secured. We’ve got all the systems in place – alarms and cameras – and they’ve managed to bypass it. Check your cameras and make sure everything is up to scratch. Be vigilant.
“Whoever has done this is a waste of oxygen. They’re taking away from an employee owned trust so it’s gone straight out of our pockets, not from some big corporate organisation – they’re taking from the general working public.”
Humberside Police have confirmed they are investigating. In a statement, the force said: “Officers are investigating reports of a burglary after they were called to a business premises on Clay Street in Hull at around 1pm on Sunday, 10 August. It is reported forced entry was made into the premises allegedly causing damage to the exterior of the building, and items are also believed to have been stolen.
“Enquiries remain ongoing to identify those involved, and we would urge anyone who has any information or CCTV footage that may assist officers with their investigation, to please contact us via our non-emergency number 101 quoting crime reference 25*111850.”
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