Shocking video shows daylight robbers storming a Cape Town jewellery store

Men armed with handguns and hammers stormed into a shopping centre in the daytime in Cape Town

(Cape Argus)

CCTV footage from South Africa shows the moment roughly nine men, armed with handguns and hammers, stormed into a shopping centre and robbed a jewellery store.

The video, taken at Cape Town's Blue Route Mall on Sunday, shows shoppers running away in terror and taking cover as a group of men wearing overalls storm into the shopping centre and begin smashing up the glass counters.

Police are now on the hunt for at least nine suspects who went on at the rampage at the Harris & D'Arcy Jewellers.

It seems that some of the men were in charge of smashing through the glass while others placed the stole goods into various bags. The footage shows the men going to several smaller rooms and completely ransacking the cabinets. One man can be seen patrolling the scene with a gun and keeping an eye on people hiding in the distance.

Police spokesperson Frederick Van Wyk told reporters that no shots were fired and that the stolen jewellery was valued at an undisclosed amount. He said they left the scene in three cars: a silver Mercedes, a white Audi A4 and a silver Golf 6.

The co-owner of the store, Ebrahim Harris, toldThe Citizen the store would be closed until repairs had been completed: "As you can see in the video, a lot of damage was done to the shop".

Video courtesy of The Cape Argus