SEATTLE — Store owners told KIRO 7's Nick McGurk cigarettes are being stolen from their shops, and they have the surveillance video to prove it.
On Sunday morning around 3:45 a.m., King Smoke Shop in Ballard was targeted by two hooded burglars.
Surveillance video shows the men prying open the doors with a crowbar.
Police say they brought garbage cans stolen from the neighborhood to carry away cigarettes.
"You see two people with garbage bags, breaking in and taking my merchandise that I pay for, it's kind of aggravating,” said Hassan Pasha, who owns King Smoke Shop and says he lost between $30,000 and $60,000 in the latest burglary.
He says it’s the third time this year they’ve been burglarized.
More than a month ago and a few minutes away, another store was burglarized for in Ballard for cigarettes, according to store owner Steven Saleh.
"Looks like throwing a ball, man, looks like Russell Wilson,” said Saleh as he watched surveillance video of a man smashing his store’s window.
In a matter of seconds, the burglar emptied shelves of $3,000 worth of cigarettes—and crawled under the smashed door.
"When you see someone getting into your property, you feel violated,” said Saleh.
Saleh says he's been hit before and he knows cigarettes are the target.
But when we asked police, they told us they don't know of any cigarette burglary trends.