Thieves raided a Northwich cash and carry for cigarettes twice in a fortnight.
The second time they had to settle for swiping booze instead.
The balaclava-clad burglars broke into the Booker Cash and Carry on Manchester Road on January 6.
After smashing a hole in a wall and gaining entry, the four men attempted to get into the cigarette storeroom.
When this failed, the offenders made off with ‘a quantity’ of alcohol.
Investigations are also ongoing into a burglary at the wholesalers on December 28.
Northwich LPU PC Matt Uren said they were following ‘a number of lines of enquiry’.
He said: “This is the second time that this store has been targeted in the past two weeks and we are currently establishing whether these two incidents are linked.
“The CCTV footage from the store shows at least four offenders were present at the time of the incident, all of whom were wearing dark clothing and balaclavas.
“I’d like to appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time of this incident and believes they may have witnessed anything suspicious to contact the team here at Northwich.”
Officers added they were particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw any activity in the car park outside Brookfield Business Centre.
The Tesco store on Manchester Road was burgled for iPhones on Christmas Day. It is not known if the thefts are related.
Anyone with any information in relation to the incident at Bookers is asked to contact Cheshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 723 of January 6.
Details can also be left anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
