A GROUP of four heavily disguised robbers used crowbars and sledgehammers to take three safes and at least $3000 from the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club on May 24.
Senior Sergeant Tony Booker said the thieves used a crowbar to lever off two small safes bolted to the ground at the Peppermint Grove venue.
A third, much larger, 80kg safe was prised away from where it was secured near the club’s cellars.
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READ NOW“They then put them all on a trolley and wheeled them out,” Snr Sgt Booker said.
The following day, the large safe was found near a coast path beside the Vlamingh Memorial, Curtin Avenue, Cottesloe, about 2km west of the club.
“It had been bashed open using a sledge hammer and its contents were removed,” Snr Sgt Booker said.
Police suspect the robbers had been observing the club for some time because a staff member reported finding three men acting suspiciously at the cellar entrance on May 14.
The men were moved on, and headed in the direction of the club’s hardstand for smaller racing boats.
The staff member later found a hole had been cut in the club’s fence near the hardstand.
Sgt Booker said the men who took the safes were wearing heavy clothing that obscured their faces and covered their hands.
He said western suburbs residents should review security and ensure access to safes was not compromised.