A HIGH-POWERED superbike worth £10,000 has been stolen in a £40,000 raid on a car dealer’s garage.
The customised Yamaha, R6, which is capable of speeds up to 200mph, was taken during a break in at Edinburgh Central Cars.
The garage, based in the Leith area of the capital, was targeted by thieves sometime between 8.30pm on Monday and 8.15am on Tuesday.
Staff arrived for work at the Bonnington Road Lane property on Tuesday to find they had been raided.
The devastated owners have estimated that the stolen goods and damage will put them £40,000 out of pocket.
As well as the carbon-fibre bike, a Ford Transit van, alloy wheels, remote control toys, power tools and three computers were stolen.
Manager Sheraz Gilani, 27, said: “It’s pretty gutting, it’s a lot to lose.
“They got in by breaking through a fire exit in the back of the property.
“They went to the back of the garage and took 44 sets of wheels and tyres worth about seven grand.
“Then they went round to one of the offices and stole the computer system.
“After that they went into another office and spilled oil over the place, just to vandalise it.
“They also stole an expensive remote control car and helicopter worth £600.”
A hole was left in the showroom fence where the thieves broke in to steal the van. Five sets of keys were also taken, as well as tools.
Mr Gilani, who lives inEdinburgh, added: “There’s a caged off fence to the side of the building. They ripped right through the fence and stole the van from the showroom.
“The van was worth about £2,500.
“I think they must have had another van to transport everything.
“They also stole five keys to five vehicles which we’ve not found.”
Mr Gilani has been running the business with friend Mohammed Misbah Arshad, 33, for around three years.
Describing the bike, which belonged to his cousin, Mr Arshad said: “It’s quite a unique bike, it’s customised.
“We changed the handle bars, the brake levers and put carbon fibre on the bodywork.
“I hope whoever took it gets brought to justice.”
He added: “It disrupts business and there’s financial loss.
“We’re making an insurance claim, I don’t think we’ll have to close the business.
“I really hope we can get our stuff back.”
Mr Gilani added that CCTV evidence of the raid was lost when the computers were stolen.
Detective Inspector Dave Pinkney said: “The owners of these vehicles and the proprietor of the garage have been left devastated by this crime and we are eager to speak to anyone who can help us find those responsible.
“To steal such a large quantity of items, either a large vehicle or a number of people would have had to be involved.
“Anyone who was in or around the garage between Monday night and Tuesday morning and remembers seeing anything suspicious is asked to contact police immediately.”
