A family was horrified when they checked their home camera from the plane and saw burglars in their house.
The shocking video shows thieves, wearing masks and gloves, searching for Asian gold while the family was away.
One of the men even held a large screwdriver as they walked around the house, which had a sign saying “home sweet home”.
The police gave the video to the Manchester Evening News to help prevent more break-ins ahead of Ramadan, as the family were flying back from a pilgrimage to Mecca when they discovered the unnerving footage.
Though it looked like a live version of events, the burglary had already happened and was recorded by the home camera.
A family member said: “I thought it was live. It was scary, honestly, seeing a stranger walking through the house and going through the drawers. It was horrifying.”, reported the Manchester Evening News.
When they got back to their home in Rochdale after landing at Manchester Airport, the family found out the neighbour had already called the police.
They added: “Everything was upside down, all the drawers had been turned out and the cupboards and cabinets had been opened. They had opened all the doors and emptied boxes. Everything was inside out and all over the place. They were clearly looking for something.
“They were going through small places where you would normally hide things, important stuff like money, jewellery and gold. It was almost like they were using a metal detector.”
The family claimed that they thought the burglars “knew we [they] were away” and suggested that the thieves had been tracking their household habits before breaking in.
Since the break-in, the Rochdale residents’ have noted that they’re still shocked by the events and have lost the sense of security their home used to provide.
As explained by the householder, around Ramadan, Muslim families often travel to see relatives and might be away from their homes, making them easy targets for thieves.
He said: “It’s a very social period of time and people tend to spend time with loved ones.”
Greater Manchester Police has said that even though no gold was stolen, the house was likely targeted for it. Asian households are more likely culturally to possess gold and this gold is known to be pure and held within families for a long time.
PC Mohammed Latif from GMP’s Rochdale burglary team mentioned: “This kind of crime is a constant throughout the year but there are spikes within the year, particularly when we come up to the holy month of Ramadan.”
The police have now increased patrols in areas where many Asian people live in Oldham and have instructed people on how to make their homes safer, like making sure doors and windows are shut when they’re out.
