PORT ELIZABETH - 3 ARMED MEN ROB JEWELLERY STORE AND HIJACK CAR AT THE BOARDWALK

BRAZEN armed robbers escaped with a cache of high-end luxury watches and then hijacked a car after a jewellery heist at The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World complex in Port Elizabeth last night.

At least three armed men were involved in the dramatic, early evening raid on Fischer’s Jewellers, situated in one of the Boardwalk’s busiest areas, metres from a popular Wimpy fast-food outlet, a cinema complex and bustling restaurants.

The robbery was over within a matter of three to four minutes.

The robbers – brandishing handguns as they fled – ran down the complex’s main pedestrian walkway and past security guards at the entrance on Marine Drive.

They ran across the road to the packed Shark Rock Pier parking lot, where they forced a Despatch couple from their Audi and sped off in it.

The vehicle was later found abandoned in the Forest Hill area near the airport.

Last night’s drama follows a string of criminal incidents at the complex in recent years, including robberies at the casino and a previous raid on Fischer’s.

The jewellery business also experienced a major robbery at its Greenacres Shopping Centre branch last year.

Police said three customers – including two from overseas – were in the jewellery store at the time of the robbery last night.

The traumatised Despatch couple were taken to a “private lounge” area in the complex after the hijack to calm down and give statements to the police.

Police declined to name them or those who had been in the store when the robbery went down.

The store was cordoned off for several hours after the robbery while forensic investigators and police photographers were busy inside.

Speaking at the scene, investigators and security staff who cannot be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media, said the store manageress had been “extremely brave”.

She had pressed an alarm button while the robbers were still there.

“She has been in this situation before,” one security officer said. “She told me, ‘This is my second one’.”

The woman declined to give her name or comment.

Investigators said possible links to previous robberies at the complex would form part of the investigation.

The incident bears striking similarities to a June 2013 robbery at the same store where employee Celeste Prinsloo was pistol-whipped by armed men, who made off with seven Rolex and 11 TAG Heuer watches, collectively worth more than R1-million.

An empty Tag Heuer-branded display board was seen lying among other empty watch display boards outside the store last night.

While the incident attracted a lot of interest from passers-by, the quick in-and-out robbery appeared to have gone largely unnoticed by hundreds of visitors at the complex.

At the nearby Craft Restaurant, where a whisky-tasting event was being held, some people were warned not to go outside as “there are people running around with guns”.

William Koen, 57, of Parsons Hill, and his wife, Yvonne, were at the Boardwalk for the event when the incident happened.

Koen said they had arrived at the complex at around 6.50pm and went for dinner at Craft.

“We didn’t know anything about what was going on until we walked out of the restaurant and noticed the area around the jewellery store was cordoned off by police tape,” he said.

Koen and his wife left the restaurant about an hour after they arrived.

“We didn’t hear anything and no one told us there was a robbery – we only realised when we walked out the restaurant,” Koen said. Asked if restaurant staff or Boardwalk security had notified them or other patrons about the incident, Koen said: “No. It was a total surprise, definitely not something you would expect,” he said.

“When we walked past the jewellers, I saw a lady in the shop talking to some police officers and a few of them [police] standing around the area keeping people away from the scene,” Koen said.

He said this was not the first time he had heard of the same jeweller being robbed. Wimpy employees Ondola Stamper and Zanela Dlamini said while they had not witnessed the robbery, customers had told them about it as they entered the eatery directly after the incident.

“This did not seem to worry our customers much,” Dlamini said.

“As you can see, the store that was robbed is just a few metres away, but our customers just came straight in an ordered their food.”

Both employees, who are aware of previous robberies at the complex, voiced concerns over their safety.

‘We could be next,” Stamper said.

“We know that place [Fischer’s] was robbed before.

“Security should certainly be improved here at the Boardwalk.

“What surprises me is that it seems that Fischer’s has learnt nothing from their past experience and has not improved their security.”

Shark Rock Pier car guard Mandla Jayiya said he had witnessed the hijacking of the Audi after spotting a group of young men running through the parking lot. “I was really scared,” he said, “I got a fright. They went up to an Audi car that was parked there and forced the people out.

“They then got into the car and sped away. “They went down the road in the direction of the university [Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University].”

Port Elizabeth police spokesman Captain Johan Rheeder said: “We do not have all the details at this stage, but I can confirm that at least three armed suspects were involved.”

“We cannot disclose what was stolen or provide any value of the goods stolen.”

VIA - heraldlive.co.za