Police are appealing for information from the public on a series of surprisingly similar armed robberies on hotels, in Adelaide and south-western Sydney.
Reportedly two men, armed with a handgun and a knife and with their faces covered, rushed the Wiley Park Hotel shortly before 3am on Wednesday (11 September), and allegedly stole cash before fleeing in a car thought to have been driven by a third person.
Officers from Campsie Police Area Command were called to the hotel on King Georges Road, where they established a crime scene and began investigations.
Staff members had been threatened and were said to be shaken, but there were no injuries.
Detectives are looking into whether the robbery was related to an attempted armed robbery that took place earlier, at the Bexley North Hotel, on Slade Road, around 2.20am.
It’s believed the men were unable to enter the Bexley North pub and left.
The two venues are only 6.3 kilometres apart.
Police warn members of the public to not approach the vehicle or its occupants, if seen, and ask anyone with information or dashcam footage to contact Campsie Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Meanwhile, South Australia police have released CCTV footage of two armed men robbing Adelaide’s Old Bushman Hotel on 3 September, before escaping in a black Mercedes.
Images show one man wielding a gun, who stands guard as the other, with a knife, heads to a counter and appears to threaten staff, ushering them to put cash in a paper bag before both run back to the vehicle.
The entire incident is over in about a minute.
It can be seen that the Mercedes, black with a white interior, was driven by a third person who did not get out. Police believe the vehicle had been stolen.
A burned-out black Mercedes sedan – reported stolen – was found about 5.30am the following day at Ward Belt.
Officers are appealing for help from the public to identify the men.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, quoting reference number 24-164M.
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