The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon 7^th March at 2.45pm when two men entered the shop in the Milltown Avenue area. They jumped over the counter and started taking money from a till, while one of the men also waved a metal object at a member of staff.

Thankfully, no-one was injured in the incident, however staff were left badly shaken and upset by what had happened.

The suspects fled the store with the cash as well as a handbag belonging to a member of staff and made off in a white Audi A3.

Both men are described as being aged in their 30s, with the first man approximately 5’9″, who was wearing a brown collared hooded parka with fur trim. The second man is around 5’7″ and was wearing a black beanie hat, black jumper, turquoise t-shirt, blue jeans and black trainers.

Police believe there were other occupants of the vehicle as well as the two suspects directly involved in the robbery. The getaway vehicle was noted at several points driving at speed, driving on the wrong side of the road, going around a roundabout the wrong way and refusing to stop for police. Items were thrown out of the window at police, including bottles of alcohol and a steel chisel.

A police pursuit ensued with the suspect vehicle ramming police patrol cars in both the Portadown and Newry areas before making over the border. There were minor injuries reported by police, however PSNI warned there could have been much more serious consequences.

They are continuing to investigate this incident and are working with colleagues in An Garda Síochána. Anyone with information that could help, including dash-cam, CCTV or mobile phone footage, is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 893 07/03/26.

The post Staff threatened during robbery at Lisburn newsagents first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday 11^th December.

A report was received around 5am that an ATM containing a sum of cash had been removed from the outside of the premises overnight and taken intact from the scene.

Police attended the scene where they conducted a number of enquiries, while they are also reviewing CCTV footage from the area as part of their investigation.

Detective Inspector Sweeney said that at this stage there are two time periods of interest – between 11.30pm and midnight, and between 2.30am and 3.30am.

They are appealing for anyone travelling in the area at the time or who may have captured dash-cam footage to contact them on 101, quoting reference number 167 11/12/25.

The post ATM stolen from Newtownabbey service station in night-time raid first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The incident occurred at the ATM located at Upper Dromore Road in the town at approximately 2am.

It was reported that an attempt had been made to gain access to the machine, located in a shop forecourt. Damage was caused to the machine, but nothing was taken.

An investigation into the incident has been launched by police, who are appealing for anyone with information, or who witnessed suspicious activity in the Upper Dromore Road area of Warrenpoint to contact their Organised Crime Unit in Enniskillen on 101, quoting reference number 111 09/12/25.

The post Attempted theft of ATM at Warrenpoint forecourt first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The incidents took place at various retail premises in areas including Newcastle, Magherafelt and south Belfast.

While the incidents are distressing and disappointing for all concerned, a number of arrests have since been made with police pointing to their proactive approach in dealing with business crime.

From Monday 10^th November to Sunday 16^th November Safer Business Action Week was held, which saw officers across Northern Ireland conduct mobile patrols, carry out searches, made arrests and meet with members of the business community.

Dedicated patrols of officers engaged with members of the business and retail community issuing advice around Safeshop, an initiative which provides business owners with specialised skills to keep themselves and their premises safe.

In Belfast, there were 20 dedicated patrols and seven arrests made, while in Mid Ulster four arrests were made across the campaign week.

In spite of this proactive work by police, retail crime continues, with several incidents occurring across the region over the last week.

PSNI officers arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of burglary following a series of burglaries in Newcastle. It was reported that a male intruder entered commercial premises on Carrigs Road on Wednesday 3^rd December and took a sum of cash before making off from the scene.

Police believe the suspect was also involved with a number of similar incidents in the Carrigs Road over recent weeks.

Meanwhile, police arrested three men in the Lisburn Road area of south Belfast in connection with a number of offences. A 33-year-old man, a 31-year-old and a 27-year-old were arrested on a host of charges, following a number of reports of thefts and drug-related offences from commercial and business premises on the Lisburn Road.

“We understand the distress this causes to the business owners, staff and local residents,” said Inspector Roisin Brown.

“We are aware of the negative impact the behaviour of these suspects has had in the local community. We hope these arrests will now put an end to the ongoing problem in the area, and allow people to go about their day-to-day business and operate their premises without concern.”

Detectives are also appealing for information following the report of a burglary in Magherafelt on Thursday 4^th December.

It was reported that the owners of a commercial/business premises on Rainey Street arrived to find a window had been smashed and money stolen from the till. It is believed entry was gained by using a hammer.

Following the completion of Safer Business Action Week, Business Crime Lead Superintendent Allister Hagan said they had worked closely with their key stakeholders to identify offenders and tackle issues like anti-social behaviour and theft.

“It is extremely encouraging to see the business community across Northern Ireland engage with police to deliver positive results during Safer Business Action Week,” he said.

“Officers provided a visible policing presence, including pop-up clinics to educate and inform retailers and business owners around related criminal activity. We are extremely grateful for the unwavering support we received from the business community across NI.”

He added that while Safer Business Action Week had come to an end, it did not mean policing activity targeting business related crime would stop.

“We will continue to hold crime prevention initiatives and activities, as well as apprehend offenders and reduce the fear of crime across our towns and cities,” he said.

“We are aware there is underreporting of business related crime, so we would encourage retailers and business owners to contact police if they feel their staff are victims of criminal activity. If a member of staff has been either physically or verbally assaulted, please get in touch with police so these offences can be robustly investigated.

“We will be utilising the information obtained during Safer Business Action Week to best utilise our resources as we approach the busy festive period for retailers. We want to make our towns and cities a place to live, work, socialise and do business.

“We will continue to robustly tackle business crime and keep both retailers and consumers.”

The post Arrests made after spate of burglaries first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The incident occurred on Wednesday 3^rd December at commercial premises at Agincourt Avenue at approximately 9.40pm.

A man entered the shop armed with a knife and demanded a staff member to open the till. He subsequently made off with a quantity of cash and was later located and arrested on suspicion of robbery, possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of a controlled class C drug.

The 43-year-old man has since been charged to appear at court, charged with robbery and possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence.

He is due to appear in Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Friday 5^th December. As is normal procedure all charges are reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

The post Man to appear in court following south Belfast shop robbery first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.