Police renew witness appeal

Mar 31 2009 by Adam Jupp, The Journal

DETECTIVES last night renewed their hunt for the men behind a robbery on a North East supermarket. In December, two men burst into the Tesco store, on Acorn Road, Jesmond, Newcastle, making off with cash boxes being delivered by security guards.

CCTV images released to The Journal show the masked raiders as they enter the shop, leave, then drive off in a silver getaway car. That was then discarded in nearby Mitchell Avenue, where the suspects got into another vehicle – a Mazda 5.

The incident was featured on the BBC’s Crimewatch show last night and it emerged the cars used in the robbery had been stolen from the other parts of the country weeks earlier.

On September 2, 2008, four cars, including a silver Land Rover, were taken during a burglary at a garage in Staffordshire. Of those, three were found in the Kirkby area of Liverpool within a fortnight of the burglary but the Land Rover was not seen again until it was used in the Tesco raid.

Meanwhile, the Mazda that the suspects made their getaway in had been stolen from the driveway of a house on the Wirral, Merseyside, on November 16.

Det Sgt Tony Gallagher, who is leading the investigation, said: “This was a highly organised gang of criminals who would be prepared to confront anyone who stands in their way. They were confident in carrying out the robbery and I feel they would have resorted to violence if confronted.”

The robbery took place on December 11, shortly after 10.50am, when a security vehicle stopped at Tesco to deposit cash in the ATM.

A security guard was forced to the ground by one of the offenders, and a large quantity of cash was stolen by his accomplice. The two robbers were challenged by a PC outside the store and they threatened her with violence before getting into the Land Rover.

Officers are also keen to identify a male who was seen outside the store prior to the robbery, in order to eliminate him from their inquiries.