By Ian Neubauer
Armed robberies were reported at three licensed premises in NSW this week.
The first took place at 1:15am on Sunday when four men with T-shirts wrapped around their heads—one armed with a pistol and two with screwdrivers—forced their way into the Foveaux Street Hotel as staff were preparing to close. Eight patrons present in the establishment were ordered to get down on the floor while one of the men threatened the hotel manager and demanded cash. No injuries were reported and the offenders fled the scene.
On Tuesday night four men in hooded tops—two armed with firearms and one with a steel bar—entered the Bowlers Clubhouse of Willoughby Legion Ex-Services Club and threatened staff before they handed over an amount of cash. The men then fled in a silver sedan driven by a fifth offender.
Another armed robbery was reported Tuesday night at the Yennora Oasis Hotel in Sydney’s southwest. According to witnesses, three men in balaclavas—one armed with a shotgun and two with pistols—entered the hotel on Tuesday evening and approached the bar. One of the men fired a shot into the ceiling and ordered patrons to get on the ground while another demanded cash. All three men fled the scene.
No arrests have been made in connection to the robberies. NSW Police are appealing for information from the public. They do not believe the robberies are connected.
In Victoria, police arrested two brothers over the armed robbery of a Melbourne hotel last week. Fahed and Riad Barbour have been remanded in custody over the theft of a large amount of cash from the Olympic Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Preston.