THIEVES in Sydney made off with more than 500 face masks and prescription painkillers after an early morning raid at a north shore pharmacy.
The criminals pried open the doors of Wards Pharmacy in Wahroonga in the early hours of Wed morning before ripping out the alarm system, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Pharmacy owner, Catherine Ward, said she arrived at the store on Wed morning to discover the damage, with the thieves breaking into locked security cabinets to access Schedule 4D medications.
"I had everything locked away," she said.
"I'm very strict with security, but they managed to take drugs, boxes of tramadol.
"They went through shelves and smashed the alarms - they completely trashed the place.
"We haven't had anything like this happen before and it couldn't have come at a worse time, being an independent up against the big discounters is tough.
"We're looking at putting even more security in now.
"It won't be happening again."
Ward has urged other businesses in the area to ramp up their security following the burglary.
"It's always been a safe area, but I've heard of a few other incidents like this over recent months," she said.
Ku-ring-gai Police have said an investigation into the break-in is ongoing, and a spokesperson has issued an appeal for any witnesses to come forward.
A neighbouring business has provided CCTV footage of two men wearing hoodies running from the pharmacy to assist with police investigations into the raid.
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