M&S Produce Lost $50K in Theft & Damage During Break-in

M&S Produce & Deli Outlet, the popular Egg Harbor Township produce store at 6020 Black Horse Pike, was robbed late Saturday night or early Sunday morning by thieves who broke through the wall and seemed to know just what they were doing.

The break-in caused as much as $50,000 worth of damage and theft, Dipen Patel told NJ.com.

Patel is the new co-owner of M&S Produce, having taken over the business in July.

Store Owner Suspects an Inside Job

The thieves broke through the wall in the store, disabled the security system, and then let accomplices in through the back door.

“It feels like somebody internal because they kind of knew a lot of the systems already,” Patel told NJ.com. “They only went to places where they knew we would keep valuable stuff.”

The thieves ransacked an office and broke into a safe with an estimated $15,000 cash inside, the owners said.

Oscar Sanchez, the store's other co-owner, says the thieves knew exactly what they were looking for.

"I feel like they were knowledgeable enough about the business and the operations, and some of the systems," he told NBC 10.

Security Cameras Stolen, Traces of Blood Found

The store was equipped with two surveillance camera systems with hard drives, both of which were taken during the break-in.

Owners say that authorities found traces of blood while they were investigating the store and collected DNA samples.

“Just very thankful to the community here,” Dipen Patel said to NJ.com.

“I had customers waiting patiently out the door until we were able to figure a few things out. A big thanks to the community, our customers, and our loyal employees.”