2:01pm Monday 20th May 2002
THREE robberies at off licences in Bexley over the past two months are being linked to one gang.
The gang of three or four black men has scooped large quantities of cash as well as cigarettes and phone cards. All the shops targeted belong to Threshers.
The latest robbery was at Threshers in Midfield Parade, off Bexleyheath Broadway, on May 13 at about 9.45pm.
The men went into the shop, two with the bottom half of their faces covered by scarves. They went behind the counter and challenged the staff.
They locked the shop door and lowered the security shutters before taking a large quantity of cash, the entire stock of cigarettes and a stack of phonecards.
Although the men carried no weapons, and no one was injured, the staff in all the raids were terrified.
Police suspect the men, who are aged around 20 and look athletic, come from outside Bexley and travel to the borough by train. They suspect the men took a train from Barnehurst railway station after the raid on May 13.
Two other similar raids were at the Threshers shop in the Oval, Sidcup, at 10.30pm on April 16 and at 9.40pm in Halfway Street, Sidcup, on April 25.
If you have any information, or think you may have seen the men at Barnehurst station on May 13, call the Bexleyheath police crimedesk on 020 8284 9142.
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