Dramatic raid
Assault rifle trio looted 150,000 euros in delicatessen
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Employees and customers threatened with weapons ++ Cologne shopkeeper offers high reward ++ Employees pursue the robbers with red wine bottles
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Cologne – It is 5.33 p.m. on December 23rd when three masked men enter a delicatessen on Cologne’s wholesale market in the Raderberg district – robbery!
In the entrance area, the robbers suddenly pull assault rifles out of their sports bags: “On the floor,” shouts a perpetrator with an Eastern European accent.
At this point in time there are around 100 customers and 20 employees in the luxury wholesaler “Mare Atlantico Delicatessen”. Restaurateurs from Cologne and the surrounding area mainly buy fresh fish in the 1,400 square meter shop.
Police officers in front of the “Mare Atlantico Delicatessen” in Cologne, which was attacked on the evening of December 23rd
Two clerks take cover in the checkout area. But the perpetrators apparently know exactly what they are doing: one of the robbers goes behind the cash register, while the accomplices threaten the customers with assault rifles.
Surveillance video shows one of the robbers opening a drawer and grabbing an envelope. In it: the daily income. According to BILD information, around 150,000 euros!
–The market is cordoned off, the police are looking for the perpetrators who raided the Cologne wholesale market
A security guard (28) told BILD: “What do you want to do when someone stands in front of you with a one-meter-long gun and calls out to you: ‘On the ground!’ I’m 1.82 meters, the guy was a head taller than me.”
His colleague Theo (51): “They were professionals. The whole raid lasted no more than a minute.”
According to the employees, a shot was fired from the robber’s pistol, who threatened two employees in the checkout room and grabbed the cash. Nobody was hit, the shot hit a table.
–The police were on site at the Cologne wholesale market with a large contingent
“So I grabbed two bottles of red wine…”
A few moments later, the gangsters flee into the night. Employee Theo: “I had the feeling that you had to do something about it. So I grabbed two bottles of red wine and ran after the robbers. But then I lost sight of her outside at a kiosk.”
The three men race in a VW Golf in the direction of Raderberger Strasse.
Managing Director Stavros Agiakatzikas (56) to BILD: “Fortunately, none of our customers and employees were injured.” During the attack, the boss even brought a number of customers to safety through the back entrance.
The police chased the robbers with a large contingent. A helicopter was in action, circling over the districts of Bilderstöckchen and Ehrenfeld. A police dog was also involved in the search.
A police spokeswoman for BILD: “We are searching at high pressure and evaluating witness statements.”
Managing Director Stavros promises his employees: “My employees get double their salary when they are shocked. I’m also offering a reward of 10,000 euros for information on the perpetrators.”
The perpetrators should be between 1.70 meters and 1.85 meters tall, slim and muscular. They are said to have spoken German with a foreign accent. A robber wore a dark blue jacket with eye-catching yellow patches, according to witnesses.
Witnesses are asked to call 0221-2290.
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