Police investigating a report of an armed robbery in west Belfast on Monday, February 19, have made two arrests.

Chief Inspector Claire Hamilton said: "It was reported around 8.30pm, a man and a woman had entered retail premises in the Springfield Road area and attempted to leave without paying for a number of items.

"When challenged by a staff member, the man produced a knife and raised it towards the employee, before both suspects made off from the store on foot, in the direction of the city centre, with items from the store.

"The man was described as being of medium build, with short, stubbly facial hair and wearing a black baseball cap, blue zipped top, navy tracksuit bottoms and black and white trainers.

"The woman was described as wearing a black coat with a fur hood, over a black hooded top, which was covering her hair over her head, and black bottoms. She was also described as having a black eye.

"A short time later, police arrested a man, aged in his 30s, and a woman, aged in her 20s, in the Grosvenor Road area, on suspicion of robbery. They remain in custody at this time.

"Our enquiries are ongoing, and we would ask anyone who was in the area and saw anything, or who may have CCTV, dashcam or other video footage, to contact us on 101, quoting reference 1786 of 19/2/24.

“Information from members of the public is invaluable to us, and I want to encourage the community to contact us with any information they may have regarding criminal activity in the local area. Your report will be thoroughly investigated as we remain committed to keeping people safe."

Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.   

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/