Armed raiders threatened staff with a handgun in a terrifying raid on a Dewsbury phone shop.
Two men wearing balaclava masks and gloves burst into The Phonemarket at the Essar petrol station in Savile Road, Savile Town.
One of the men brandished the gun at two members of staff while his accomplice jumped over the counter and grabbed mobile phones from the display.
The raid happened at around 4.50pm on Saturday and was over in a matter of seconds.
Afzal Adam, who runs the shop, said he was at home when he received a call from his staff telling him what had happened.
“Two guys in balaclavas, hats and gloves came in and one guy pulled out a gun and the other jumped over the counter and grabbed phones.
“There was a customer in the store – aged about 19 – and he had brought his phone to exchange. He had put the phone on the counter and they stole this too.
“It was all over very quickly and the guy was saying something like: ‘Don’t do anything stupid. We just want the phones.’”
The men then fled in a waiting car.
Mr Adam, whose father Solly owns the petrol station site, said about 10 phones were stolen, all Samsung S8s and S9s. The phones retail for around £500-£600 each.
Mr Adam said at first he thought the raid was well-planned and “professional” but he now believed not much thought had gone into it.
“They stole the customer’s iPhone which, as he was changing it, had been wiped but they wouldn’t have known that. If it had been working it would have had tracking on it so the police could have followed the tracker,” he said.
“All the new phones are blocked so they aren’t worth very much. All that to put yourself at risk of going to jail for a long time for less than a grand.”
Police later arrested four men. Det Insp Mark Catney, of Kirklees CID, said: “Two men entered the shop and made their demands. There was no discharge and no-one was hurt.
“Four suspects have been arrested and are now in custody.”
Anyone with information should ring Det Sgt Chris Eglen via 101. The crime reference number is 13180139898.
