Police are looking for suspects who ransacked the education center at Hawaii's Plantation Village in Waipahu and stole a camera and other items.

The break-in occurred at about 7 p.m. Monday at the Hideo “;Major”; Okada Education Center, which houses the site's museum, archives and administration offices. Executive Director Jeffrey Higa said the suspects apparently cut the phone lines at a pole along Waipahu Street and smashed the alarm horn outside the building before somehow entering through the front door.

Motion sensors in different rooms sent a signal to the security company, which alerted police and Higa. Staff members said they believe more than one suspect broke in because several sensors were set off simultaneously.

The security keypad and the videocassette recording system inside the building were damaged. Five wooden doors apparently were kicked in, and cabinets and drawers in various rooms and offices were ransacked.

Higa believes the suspects were looking for money, as artifacts and exhibits in the museum remained intact. The outdoor structures at the plantation village were also untouched. However, a digital camera staff used to document artifacts, tools from Higa's office and the tape inside the VCR were stolen.

In the past, copper pipes were stolen from under the building, and the front doors were smashed in two separate incidents. But Higa said those do not compare to Monday's break-in.

“;This is the worst one,”; he said.

It is the only museum on Oahu dedicated to the lives of immigrant laborers and the plantation era, according to its Web site. It is located near the historic smokestack of the Oahu Sugar Mill, which shut down in April 1995.

Costs for repairs and upgrading the museum's security system are estimated at $12,000. Higa said it will be a challenge to make the necessary fixes as the museum did not receive state funds this year due to budget cuts.

“;Something like this sets us back,”; he said.

Faith P. Evans, president of the museum's board of directors, said in a written statement, “;It's virtually impossible for us to finance round-the-clock security for HPV without any outside support.”;

Anyone who has information on the break-in is asked to call police.