Plant thieves target South Surrey restaurant for third time this summer

SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Who would steal plants and why?

Those are the questions owners of a local family-run restaurant already struggling because of the pandemic are asking, after the plants donning the railing of their patio were stolen for a third time this summer, leaving them shocked and disappointed.

“I’m not too sure if they think these plants are our secret ingredients cause our foods so delicious and they’re coming and stealing them or what other reasons they have for doing this to a small business,” Hassib Sarwari, owner of Afghan Kitchen South Surrey tells NEWS 1130.

The first theft happened earlier in the summer, when the restaurant was still closed because of the pandemic.

“We started planting because of the shutdowns,” Sarwari says. “So we spent a lot of time finding the right plants, the colours, the combination and then few weeks later we came back the next day and they were all gone.”

Security cameras inside the restaurant showed a car drive-up and a woman get out to grab the plants before taking them back inside the vehicle. The restaurant decided to replace the plants but add a note, kindly requesting they not be stolen as the small restaurant is already going through difficult times.

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But once the new plants were thriving, Sarwari says they too were snatched. The restaurant then installed external cameras before again planting replacements, which were also stolen last weekend.

Footage from the new external camera shows two people drive up in a blue sedan. The female driver then gets out, pulls two colourful plants out of the soil, and places them in the backseat before returning to pull out two more plants out.

“Seeing something like that happen you wonder if you’re being targeted. Obviously this type of behaviour, it’s not tolerated and it’s very disappointing to see that people actually take their time in the middle of the night to drive and steal plants,” adds Sarwari, who says the same people are behind each theft.

His message to the plant thieves: if you want plants, i’ll buy them for you and even plant them.

“They might not think stealing plants may actually have some sort of effect on people but it does,” Sarwari says. “The amount of time and emotions that goes with it, it’s quite stressful for us. Right now we need to focus on how we can survive this pandemic and the challenges, not worry about the plants.”

Despite the string of thefts, Sarwari says they have already planted new plants.

“People walk by and look at those flowers and it makes them smile.”

The restaurant says it has reported the thefts to Surrey RCMP.