Three masked youths have raided a Highland shop for e-cigarettes.
Mohammed Fique opened the Phone Store in Alness last August.
Since then the High Street shop has been repeatedly had its stock of vapes targeted by thieves.
In the most recent incident, three youths dressed in black and wearing masks burst into the shop and grabbed the vapes before running away.
Police attend shop and receive CCTV
Mr Fique has now handed over his CCTV footage to the police and hopes they will be able to track down the culprits.
“It is very disturbing,” he said.
“I don’t know the youths but their faces are quite visible to the outside camera and it will be very easy to trace them.”
Despite vapes only being a small part of the business, Mr Fique estimates the theft involved £60 to £200 worth of goods.
Incidents in the past have involved youths coming in and grabbing as many vapes as they could before leaving.
Mr Fique said: “Obviously you have lost revenue but the future prospect of this happening again is worrying”.
“I am definitely worried about my employee’s safety.
“It’s hard to know what will happen in the future.
“But when people put the masks on that is more disturbing.”
Police have confirmed they received a report of the theft and are investigating.
Mr Fique has now put out an appeal on social media, asking fellow businesses in the area to be vigilant to the threat.
His post read: “This is a police matter, but we think the other businesses in Alness should be made aware.
“We had three youths dressed in black skinny jeans, black jackets and masks burst into the Phone Store Alness and grab stock, mainly vapes, brazenly even though we have cameras – so be vigilant shop owners.”
Rise in teenage vaping continues
Despite being illegal to sell vapes to under-18s, there has been a massive rise in vaping teenagers.
According to a 2022 YouGov study, the occasional and regular use of vapes amongst 11 to 17-year-olds has doubled in the previous year.
Many of disposable vape brands are designed with colourful packaging and flavours to appeal to youngsters.
Last month, Moray Council backed calls to ban disposable vapes altogether.
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