Shiva’s Gold and Gems in Front Street.
PHILIPSBURG--“Luckily there were no customers in the business,” Ajay Alwani, owner of Shiva's Gold and Gems, said of the robbery at his Front Street business. At 1:30 pm on Monday, four armed men entered the jewelry store. One of them shattered display cases with a sledgehammer.
The robbers first grabbed expensive designer watches and then haphazardly grabbed jewellery counters in the showroom. With about 20 percent of Shivas' collection, the foursome took off on two scooters, down Front Street, and then towards Over the Bank.
The havoc in the high-end jewelry business is painful to watch. Broken glass everywhere. Empty jewelry counters. Alwani assessed the damage in the afternoon. His mind focused on solutions, he said: “Our security officers in Front Street need panic buttons. They must be able to alert each other in case of an emergency. This will be arranged this week.”
Front Street will become better prepared, said Alwani, who called the recent spree of robberies “disturbing”. “Especially for tourists. Luckily, there were no customers in the store at the time of the robbery,” he said.
At 1:30pm, four men on two scooters came down the alley next to Shiva's from the Boardwalk. All four of them wore black motorcycle helmets, their faces hidden behind dark visors. One of the men pointed his gun at the female security guard standing in front of Shiva's entrance. A security officer with a watchdog was patrolling down the street.
“They came inside while holding a gun to the woman's head. She was forced to lie down on the floor," Alwani said. His sales staff watched in agony as the showroom jewelry counters were shattered with a sledgehammer. “The robbers focused on the expensive designer watches. The other jewels were an afterthought,” Alwani said.
Although he could not see their faces, the owner of the jewelry store thinks the boys are no older than 30. “They were young, and fast,” he said, suspecting that they have robbed before, albeit not a jewelry store. “They just grabbed jewelry, I guess not really knowing what pieces they actually took.”
The robbers spoke English, Alwani said. “After they took the jewelry, I heard them say: Let's go! Let's go!"
Police searched the Over the Bank area for the suspects and traced three of the four suspects. They are currently held at the police station in Philipsburg. Their weapons and one of the scooters were confiscated by police, who also were able to retrieve jewelry that was stolen from Shiva’s.
Alwani and his team were relieved to hear the news of the arrests. "The quick action of the police is commendable. They have done an excellent job."
The search for the fourth suspect continues.
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/robbery-at-shiva-s-jewelry-store-three-of-the-four-suspects-arrested
