An armed gang of six escaped with an undisclosed amount of money in what has been described as a ‘casual’ armed robbery at Westgate Meat Market in West Porges just before 6pm on Tuesday.
Brian Venter, 32, one of the owners, told the Herald that at around 5.55pm six men entered the butchery one by one, acting like normal customers. Two of the men even paid for the meat they took from the shelves.
One of the suspects then approached the block man, whose job it is to cut, trim or prepare the portions of meat, and steered him towards the back.
Then the staff and two customers were ordered to lie down on the floor, but one of the staff was ordered to open the money drawer in the office. The robber emptied the drawer and one of the other tills. The suspects then fled and disappeared behind an electricity box.
It’s said the armed robbery took between five and eight minutes. No injuries were reported and no shots fired. Venter said the suspects were very calm and not aggressive in any way.
Venter said EPR Security as well as Randfontein Police were quick to arrive on scene after being notified as soon as the gang had left. He said that at about 1pm on Sunday 17 April, he noticed a suspicious-looking Ford Figo parked across the street.
It could have been the suspects, watching us and planning this robbery.”
This is the third time in nine years the Meat Market got robbed.
“We thank God nobody got injured. Business owners should be extremely vigilant,” he said.
Response from the Randfontein Police is being awaited.
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