A mini-mart heist Thursday resulted in the theft of five cases of cigarettes, valued at $7,5000.
Sometime between 1:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., one or more people broke through a cinderblock wall and made off with the five cases of Newports. There’s 60 cartons – or 3,000 packs – in one case.
The break-in occurred in the 1400 block of Old Snow Hill Road.
“(Officers) responded to a breaking and entering call and (the victim), who’s the owner of the establishment, said someone had broken in through the back wall and stolen five cases of Newport cigarettes, an unknown number of Black & Mild cigars, and a case of lighters,” said Woody Spencer, spokesman for the Kinston Department of Public Safety. “It’s still under investigation at this point in time.”
Although the official estimate pegs the value per pack at $2.50, the average price of a pack of cigarettes in North Carolina comes in at $4.62, meaning the retail value of the stolen smokes is around $13,860.
The case of 50 lighters was valued at $35 dollars. The incident report also shows an unknown number of energy drinks were stolen.
The value of the damage to the wall was unknown.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.