A man was arrested after smashing into the Kamloops cell phone store on March 29, 2023, but he left thousands of dollars in damage in the process.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Muhammad Hassan Shabir

A Kamloops cell phone repair shop had its third break-in this week within nine months of opening. 

Muhammad Hassan Shabir is fed up, considering returning to his home country of Oman after going to school in Canada and running his business for less than a year.

"I'm away from my family to make money, to earn a good life, not to give away money," Shabir said.

A man broke into his Notre Dame Drive store, Cellphone Point, around 11:30 p.m., March 29. The culprit was caught while fleeing, only to be released the next day.

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The man damaged the front door as he tried to get in, but couldn't get access. Instead, he broke through the front window. He then looted the store of eight customer phones, seven used phones for sale and other accessories, while causing an estimated $20,000 in damage, Shabir said.

He was caught as he tried to flee the area.

Shabir said someone tried to break into a neighbouring business around the same time, and the owner called police when the security system caught people trying to get in. Although RCMP responded, Shabir got to the area before they did.

"He went to the back of the building and by the time I came, he was coming out from the back and he was running towards the shelter," he said referring to Merit Place, the former Greyhound station and current shelter.

The culprit damaged the door, but could not get in. He smashed the window and climbed through instead.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Muhamman Hassan Shabir

Police caught the culprit between the cell phone store and the shelter, but he didn't have the cell phones anymore, only phone cases and chargers. Shabir suspects he may have had a partner who picked up the cell phones behind the store, but it's not clear whether police are looking for a second person.

Shabir replaced his customers' phones and some understood, but there were some who were "furious."

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"Some had important data on those phones like contacts, photos, memories," he said.

One was frustrated because it held her only photos of her late grandmother. Customers might be hopeful they'll get their phones back, but Shabir expects they've been sold to new users already.

He's spoken with other cell phone repair stores that have also fallen victim to smash-and-grab type break-ins. Shabir said thieves tend to target Samsungs the most because they're the easiest for a new user to hijack.

iPhones, for example, tend to have stronger security measures against replacing the current user's data.

He'll now have to wait weeks to have his door and window replaced because each business he called for work was backed up with prior appointments for similar break-in damage. The damage might cost him $20,000 to fix, not including the $3,000 he spent to replace customers' phones.

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It's a similar story to an October break-in where another cell phone repair store tracked 60 stolen phones to the same Merit Place shelter.

Twenty of those phones belonged to customers, but police weren't able to get the phones after dispatchers failed to pass the message along to the investigating officers.

No one has been charged for the October break-in.

The man Kamloops RCMP arrested has already been charged for the break-and-enter, according to spokesperson Cpl. Crystal Evelyn.

She didn't provide any information related to what was stolen and whether another man is suspected to have picked up the phones, but she did confirm he's still in custody.

Justin Moller, born in 1989, will appear for a bail hearing on April 3. He was already on bail for assault charges dating back to October 2022, which he'll answer for again on the same day, according to court records.

"That was the moment I thought I should go back (to Oman)," he said. "Because I invested all my savings here. I haven't made money, I've lost money."

He suggested he'd be less likely to have a business broken into in Oman because of stricter laws that deter thieves.

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