Four men to face Belfast court over armed jewellery shop robbery

FOUR men have been charged with a number of offences including robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.

The suspects –  aged 27, 29, 30 and 45 – are to face Belfast Magistrates’ Court this morning, Saturday, October 5.

The charges follow a robbery at a shop on Mill Road, Ballyclare on Thursday night, 3 October.

As is usual procedure the charges will be reviewed by the PPS.

Detective Sergeant Lenaghan said: “At approximately 4 pm four men entered the shop, armed with baseball bats and hammers.

“The men smashed cabinets and assaulted a female member of staff who was pushed to the ground and struck on the wrist with a hammer.”

“The males made off with a quantity of jewellery.”

“This was a distressing incident for the member of staff who has been left badly shaken; no one should be made to feel unsafe in the workplace.”

Detectives investigating the robbery continue to investigate the incident.

They and would like to hear from anyone who may have seen a silver Vauxhall Corsa reg RCZ3688, a silver Renault Megane reg DJZ4401, or a male wearing shorts and a Northern Ireland football shirt running along Green Road or Ballyclare on Thursday evening.

Detectives can be contacted on 101.

The 45 year old male was also charged with fraud by false representation and obtaining money by deception and will also appear at Belfast Magistrates court this morning in connection with those charges.

These charges are in connection with an incident in July in which a victim was duped via email into transferring a large sum of money into a ‘scam’ account.

The charges will be reviewed by the PPS.