Montreal police say they believe they have put a stop to a series of break-ins in the West Island that had been plaguing mostly small businesses over the past couple of months.
Police have made six arrests between May and July in connection with as many as 40 break-ins - usually a door window was smashed, usually with a rock.
Mary-Ann McCoy, owner of coffee specialty shop Boutique Java Kap was among the victims. She told CJAD 800 she's glad about the arrests though she wished police would have informed merchants about the rash of crimes.
"After, I kind of was a little bit upset as to why businesses weren't maybe notified that this was going on. Maybe I would have left all the lights on in my store instead of just the night light," said McCoy.
Police say they did step up patrols at the time and went door-to-door to give security advice.
McCoy said the thief got away with about $70 in loose change but she estimates the damage at around $1300.
Pizza parlour Mama Sofia was also hit. Owner Joanna Billingy only had her smashed front door fixed last Friday. The same thing happened six years ago when she first opened.
"It's a lot of grief. It cost us a lot to replace those doors," said Billingy.
"We work really hard to keep our business going. It's really hard on the small businesses."