Cops: Middlesex County Man Identified As Mosque Thief

South Brunswick Police have asked for the public’s help in searching for a 23-year-old Edison man wanted in connection with the burglary of a mosque.

South Brunswick Police Detective Sgt. Jeff Russo signed a complaint Friday evening charging Haziq Shah with burglary, theft, and criminal mischief, police said.

Shah entered the Islamic Center of Central Jersey on Route 1 on Tuesday evening and broke open a sheetrock wall to gain entry to the donation area. Video of the crime was released to the medi,a which generated numerous tips, police said.

Detectives following up on the tips, which led to Shah’s Edison home. At the residence police recovered physical evidence that links Shah to the crime, police said.

The complaint alleges that Shah entered the mosque to commit a crime and damaged mosque property to gain access to the donations, police said. His bail has been set at $47,500.

Anyone with information on Shah’s whereabouts is asked to call South Brunswick Police at (732) 329-4646. Shah has not been charged in connection to the handful of other burglaries to area mosques over the past month.