Takeaway boss Saqib Iqbal told how he almost quit the business after his premises were broken into.
Brazen thief Barry Davies was caught on camera smashing the shop’s till off a wall before nicking £100.
He also stole a charity tin from a bingo hall and a PS4 console from a supermarket during a crime spree between October and November last year.
Davies made off with coins and notes from the till, which cost £1,100 to replace, at Zulu’s Piri Piri on Mauchline Avenue.
The thief was caught following a Facebook appeal by the takeaway’s owner Mr Iqbal.
He said: “I put it on a social media page and it obviously helped catch him because the next day a few people contacted me and gave me his name, Barry Davies.
“It was a big mess and a lot of hassle and we were planning to leave the shop because you cannot run your business if you are getting robbed
“But then we thought we would give it another go.”
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He added: “The cash was in the till, but the damage caused meant we could not run the shop properly for two days and had to use another system. It cost £1,200 to put in a new system with a new till. It was really hard for two days but somehow we managed.”
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how the boss made the discovery that the business was broken into.
Prosecutor Saima Rashid said: “He opened the shop shutter and saw a quantity of glass smashed. A large brick was discovered in the dining area and the till had been forced open. A review of CCTV showed the accused breaking in at 2.52am. He picks up the till and throws it three times causing it to eventually open. The accused grabs coins and notes to the value of £100.”
The 38-year-old, a prisoner of HMP Perth, pleaded guilty to breaking into Zulu’s Piri Piri on October 19 and stealing a quantity of money as well as stealing a PS4 from Sainsbury’s on Tom Johnson Road on the same date.
Davies also admitted stealing a charity tin and its contents from Mecca Bingo, Douglas Road, on November 10.
Solicitor Jim Caird said Davies is currently serving a 16-month sentence with a release date of August 28. Sentence was deferred until July 29 for reports to investigate the possibility of a supervised release order.
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