Kimberley - The Sterns jewellery shop in Phakamile Mabija Street in the Kimberley CBD was robbed of stock valued at roughly R250 000 after two gunmen stormed the premises and tied up one of the assistants in the back of the store.
The incident happened shortly after the store opened for business on Wednesday morning, with the two gunmen being the shop’s first “customers”.
They apparently asked to be let in by the shop assistant on duty, under the pretence of wanting to “buy watches”. Another assistant was not in the shop at the time of the incident.
After opening the security gate, the two men overpowered the assistant, pulled out their guns, and forced her to the back of the store. Here they tied her to a chair with a belt and took off with jewellery, watches and cell phones valued at roughly R250 000, according to a Sterns spokeswoman, who preferred not to be named.
The suspects fled on foot.
The sales assistant who was out at the time, returned and found and released her colleague. They then called the police.
According to the two employees, the two suspects had been “watching” the shop and probably waited for the one assistant to leave before they executed the robbery.
“They were in the shop yesterday (on Tuesday) and were watching as we unpacked the stock,” the two visibly shaken employees said shortly after the incident.
The employee who was in the store at the time of the robbery, indicated that she would be receiving trauma counselling following the ordeal.
Northern Cape police spokesman, Lieutenant Olebogeng Tawana, on Wednesday confirmed the incident and said that the Kimberley Organised Crime Unit was investigating a case of armed robbery.
He added that two unknown armed men, wearing denim jeans and jackets, went into the jewellery store under the pretence of wanting to buy wrist watches.
“They took the store employee to the back office and tied her up with a belt. “
“They fled the scene in an unknown direction,” Tawana said.
He appealed to any person with information that may lead to the arrests of the suspects to contact the investigating officer, Colonel Solomon Makgato, on 053 836 7024.
Northern Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO, Sharon Steyn, on Wednesday said that the Kimberley CBD had become a crime “free-for-all” as a result of security cameras in the area not working.
“Business owners in the CBD live in fear, while customers, fearing for their personal safety, simply avoid shopping in the CBD at all costs. The situation is extremely bad for businesses. Crime has escalated at an alarming rate since the security cameras stopped working several months, if not even years, ago,” Steyn said.
She added that numerous meetings between Nocci and the police with regards to getting the cameras up and running again, had yielded “absolutely no results”.
“The police want business to pay for the cameras but we feel that the costs should be covered by the police and the Sol Plaatje Municipality,” she stated.
Diamond Fields Advertiser
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.