Tuck shops hit in spate of robberies
FOREIGN tuck shop owners in Kimberley are fearing for their lives after a spate of armed robberies during the last week.
Eight tuck shops, all owned by foreign nationals, yesterday reported being robbed at gunpoint in the past seven days.
On Friday, no less than six tuck shops in the CBD were robbed of cash, cigarettes and cellphones, among other items.
One business owner, Ama Zahirul Slam, from the Tawaka Tuckshop in the CBD, yesterday recalled his experience of being robbed at gunpoint by two men on Friday afternoon.
He stated that a man came into the shop and bought a bottle of water, but then pulled out a pistol when he was handed his change.
“He pointed the gun at me and told me to hand him cash. I did as he said and he also took my cellphone, before getting away,” Slam said.
He added that he was now living in fear, concerned that the robbers might come back and kill him.
Another tuck shop owner, Alif Hassan, was also robbed at gunpoint, apparently by the same group of robbers, only hours after the Tawaka Tuckshop robbery.
Hassan is the owner of Alif Fourway Tuckshop, just down the street.
“AT around 7pm on Friday, five men came in with guns. They closed the shop’s shutters and then tied my hands with cable ties. They left me in the back, while they took out backpacks and stole cigarettes, money, cellphones and perfume. After they left the shop, they again closed the shutter behind them,” Hassan said.
He added that a total of six foreign-owned tuck shops were robbed on Friday, with two more in the area robbed over the weekend.
“We, as business owners of foreign nationality, are scared. This has been a bad week and we feel that this is a trend of xenophobia flaring up. We suspect that these robberies are all connected and that it is the work of a gang,” Hassan added.
The targeted tuck shops belong to mostly Bangladeshi, Somali and Pakistani nationals.
Police spokesman, Captain Sergio Kock, yesterday confirmed the incidents at tuck shops in Queen and Roper streets and said that no injuries were reported.
He added that no arrests had been made yet.