Three men will face court after police allege a young Woolgoolga shop worker was threatened with a handgun during a terrifying armed robbery that unfolded in broad daylight.
Police allege the ordeal began about 3.20pm on Sunday 26 April, when three men walked into a business on River Street and confronted a 21-year-old employee.
One of the men allegedly produced a handgun as the group demanded cash and cigarettes before fleeing the store.
The woman escaped physically unharmed, but the alleged armed hold-up triggered an intensive police investigation across the Mid North Coast.
Detectives from Coffs Clarence Police District spent two weeks piecing together the movements of the alleged offenders before launching coordinated raids at properties stretching from Corindi Beach to Newcastle.
About 2pm on Thursday, officers from the Coffs Region Enforcement Squad, Proactive Crime Team and Crime Prevention Unit moved in on three homes simultaneously at Corindi Beach, Toormina and New Lambton Heights.
Police allege they uncovered proceeds linked to the robbery during the raids, along with drugs and multiple electronic devices.
At Corindi Beach, a 19-year-old man was arrested and later charged with robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon, acquiring a pistol while subject to a firearms prohibition order, possessing a prohibited drug and breaching bail.
A 20-year-old man arrested at Toormina was charged with robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon.
Meanwhile, police from Newcastle City Police District arrested another 20-year-old man at New Lambton Heights.
He was charged with robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon, possessing an unregistered unauthorised pistol in a public place, carrying a firearm in a manner likely to injure a person or property, and failing to keep a firearm safely.
All three men were refused bail and will face Bail Division Court 6 today.
Police investigations into the incident are continuing.
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