Employees left shaken as six armed robbers strike at Quigney Spar

SIX armed gangsters who robbed the Inverleigh Terrace Spar in Quigney on Monday night and made off with around R25 000 are still on the run.

East London police have appealed to anyone with information to visit the Fleet Street police station.

East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said two of the six men were armed with guns. Mqala said a case of business robbery has been opened.

She said that they robbed the store at 8pm. “There were no injuries and no shots fired.

“The robbers left on foot.”

The store is co-managed by Isabela Venter and Tanya Kent.

Venter said she was overseeing the cashing-up when the five gunmen bumped aside their security guard and stormed into the store. “We were already closed at 8pm when one of our three guards went outside to fetch a traffic cone which we put out for the disabled parking.”

When the armed guard tried to lock the door again, he was run down by the gun-wielding thugs.

“They made a big noise, shouting instructions for people to lie down and cashiers to open the tills but luckily no one was hurt and no shots were fired.”

Twenty-five shoppers, mainly students, dropped to the ground.

Venter said only three of the six cashiers were on duty, with tills carrying close to R9 000 each. The three tills were cleaned out of notes and coins and emptied into a backpack.

Venter, who managed other leading retail stores in her home province of Limpopo, said it was her first armed robbery experience in her 11- year career.

She said cashier S’bongile Mvo, 24, was assaulted.

“They my cheek three times. I was still confused when the robbers entered the store after serving a customer.

“One of them ordered me to open the till and while I was fumbling, a short guy came and hit me.”

Mvo said she struggled to scan a plastic bag because the till would only open when someone makes a purchase.

“He yelled ‘Don’t look at us!’” Venter said the Fleet Street Police responded swiftly.

Cashier Thandile Kunelisi, 23, said all she could think about was her two-year-old son. “It was a very busy night, the shop was packed. The guy instructed me to take out the cash and I obliged because I was scared.”