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| Santa gang rob Albanian jewellery store | Santa gang rob Albanian jewellery store |
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| Maybe their excuse is that their sleighs had ran out of presents, but four armed Santas who robbed a jewellery shop in the Albanian capital, Tirana, are the targets of a nationwide police hunt. | |
| The robbery, which was caught on video by a security camera in the TEG shopping centre, took place minutes before the shop closed for Christmas on Tuesday evening. The thieves, all dressed in traditional Santa outfits, burst in carrying Kalashnikov semi-automatic rifles and proceeded to fill their sacks with the jewellery on display. | The robbery, which was caught on video by a security camera in the TEG shopping centre, took place minutes before the shop closed for Christmas on Tuesday evening. The thieves, all dressed in traditional Santa outfits, burst in carrying Kalashnikov semi-automatic rifles and proceeded to fill their sacks with the jewellery on display. |
| The only people in the shop at the time were the owner and his wife. Both were held at gunpoint, but neither was hurt. The robbers were in the shop for less than three minutes. | The only people in the shop at the time were the owner and his wife. Both were held at gunpoint, but neither was hurt. The robbers were in the shop for less than three minutes. |
| They are thought to have fled the scene of the crime in a Mercedes, which they then drove off the road. The car was set alight and the thieves fled into the gathering darkness. | They are thought to have fled the scene of the crime in a Mercedes, which they then drove off the road. The car was set alight and the thieves fled into the gathering darkness. |
| It was not immediately clear whether a shoot-out involving the police which took place at about the same time near the village of Lanabregas was linked to the robbery. | |
| Both the interior minister in Edi Rama's centre-left government, Samir Tahiri, and the head of the Albanian police, Artan Didi, visited the shopping centre as police began questioning witnesses. | Both the interior minister in Edi Rama's centre-left government, Samir Tahiri, and the head of the Albanian police, Artan Didi, visited the shopping centre as police began questioning witnesses. |
| In a statement, Tirana district police said that two of the guns used by the masked thieves had been found in a waste bin near the shop. Forensic and ballistic tests were being carried out on the weapons. | |
| The police added that a special unit had been set up to hunt for the Father Christmases. | The police added that a special unit had been set up to hunt for the Father Christmases. |
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