Masked men made off with a significant amount of money following an early morning raid at a Co Armagh filling station.
The two men, wearing balaclavas, entered the Gosford Road filling station near Markethill in the early hours of this morning (Thursday).
The criminals also covered the security cameras to prevent being detected.
DUP MLA William Irwin described the burglary as “sinister” and “abhorrent”.
“This is a shocking incident whereby a well-used local service station has been burgled and a significant sum of money stolen.
“For criminals to target this local facility outside Markethill is abhorrent and speaking to police they are currently investigating this sinister crime.”
He added: “I understand they are following various lines of inquiry in a bid to track down those behind this robbery and it is important that anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious in the area between the hours of 1am and 3am or when travelling on the main Newry-Armagh road contacts the police immediately and assists with their investigation.”
He concluded: “It is important that this spate of criminality is halted and those behind it brought to justice.
“The main Armagh-Newry road is a convenient route for cross border criminals to carry out their criminality and disappear back over the border as has happened on many occasions before.
“It is vital that PSNI resources are targeted at defeating these criminals and ending this crime spree.”
