Supermarket owner upbeat despite robbery ordeal
Two men have been arrested in connection with the robbery of an Effingham supermarket and a service station in Phoenix.
THE owner of a popular Greenwood Park supermarket who was held at gunpoint last week remains upbeat, despite the terrifying ordeal. Pravesh Ramfol, owner of Top of the Rock Supermarket in Effingham Road, was pleased to hear two of the suspects have been arrested. The other robbers are still at large.
On Saturday 15 February Ramfol was gearing up to close shop at about 7.30pm when an armed man wielding an AK47 rifle entered his store.
“One man came up to the counter and pointed his firearm at me shouting ‘Don’t press the button. I just put my hands in the air,” Ramfol said.
While opening the tills to get money for the first robber, another armed man stormed the shop, with a third following suit.
“The third armed man also asked for money from the tills and I told him that I already gave it to the first robber. He then said: ‘Do you want me to shoot you?’ I then remember him taking a shopping basket and loading goods into it,” he said. The shoppers were also robbed.
When the robbers left the store, Ramfol thought the coast was clear and made is way to the customer’s side of the counter: “I managed to get to the other side of the counter only to see between six and nine men firing shots outside. All the customers who either left the shop or wanted to come in were lying on the floor outside the shop,” he said.
The gang then proceeded to take car keys, wallets, cellphones and any other goods customers had on them.
“Despite going through all this it’s been awesome to see the community rally with support. We’ve had people calling and popping into the shop to find out how we’re doing. Marshall Security and the Greenwood Park Police Station’s officers have also been very helpful,” a positive Ramfol said.
No one was injured. Ramfol and his staff received counselling on the night.
Greenwood Park SAPS’s spokesman, Lt Elvis Naidoo, said it is believed the men who robbed the supermarket were linked to another robbery at the Brookdale Service Station in Phoenix the night before.
Armed men robbed the store and customers of cash, cellphones and airtime. The suspects made off with a car which was recovered last week.
