Surveillance Video Helps Police Crack Burglary Case

Following an extensive investigation, arrested a 52-year-old East Orange man in connection with the theft of laptop computers from three offices on Commerce Drive.

On March 23 at 4 p.m., Detective Ryan Greco arrested a man identified as Abdurraheen A. Akbar and charged him with robbery, burglary and theft. The arrest came after an investigation into the Jan. 13 robbery of three individual commercial buildings on Commerce Drive. A total of five laptop computers were stolen.

According to Detective Lt. James Wozniak, in one case, an employee actually saw the suspect in the office building.

"The suspect was confronted by an employee at which time the suspect kicked the employee and ran from the building," Wozniak said. "Similar crimes were reported in numerous other municipalities throughout the state.

One of those municipalities was Mountainside, where a similar theft also occurred, police said.

"The case broke when Mountainside Police recovered video surveillance from a similar crime in their town and were able to identify a suspect," Wozniak said. "Detective Greco determined that the subject identified by Mountainside Police,
Abdurraheem A. Akbar, was in fact the responsible for the crimes in Cranford."

Akbar was charged with one count of robbery, three counts of burglary and three counts of theft. He was transported to Union County Jail in Elizabeth on
$100,000 bail.