It took two armed men just a few minutes to rob McCoy´s Outfitters in Songozwi Street on Friday afternoon, but they are a couple of agonizing minutes the Ahmed brothers would rather forget.

"Anything can happen. They threatened to shoot us and they could have if they wanted to," recalls Yassin Ahmed.

The robbery occurred just before closing time in broad daylight within the busy main street.

"The staff had already left. The door was closed but not locked and I had already cashed up for the day," says Yassin.

The next moment, the door swung open. A well-dressed man gave one step into the shop and the next moment a gun was pointed at Yassin were he was sitting behind the cash register.

"He demanded money and threatened to shoot me," say Yassin.

Right on the heels of the gunman, a second robber entered the store, followed by Yassin’s brother, Abduly. At that stage, he was unaware of what was happening inside the shop. He soon found himself at the wrong end of a gun, however.

The robbers forced the two Ahmed-brothers to the back of the shop.

"They kept on demanding money and went straight to the drawer where we kept our float. They then asked me for the safe key, but I told them we did not have a safe. They then cleared out the cash register and left," say Yassin.

Despite their horrifying ordeal, the Ahmed brothers did have something to smile about. They had extremely high praise for the police.

"I tell you, within minutes of Abduly phoning the police, it was like the whole police force was at our shop," says Yassin. Indeed, within minutes, the area was swarming with uniformed police and police reservists.

"They were very helpful and efficient," says Yassin. This was also true with regard to their follow-up investigation, as it is said that several suspects were arrested within hours of the robbery.

An identification parade was held on Monday. In the meantime, the investigation continues. The amount of money stolen was not disclosed.