Christos Tzortzoglou (centre) returned to work alongside his son Dennis and daughter Magda Athanasopoulos only hours after he was assaulted during an armed robbery at his Dandenong supermarket.By Nathan Johnston
CHRISTOS Tzortzoglou was back at work only a few hours after he was held at gunpoint at his Dandenong supermarket.
Mr Tzortzoglou, 66, was assaulted by two men who had broken into the Hemmings Street IGA on Monday night and laid in wait for him to arrive at work.
When he arrived to open up the shop, he was ambushed.
He was handcuffed then, while one of the offenders grabbed alcohol and cigarettes, the other stood over and assaulted him.
After they had gone, Mr Tzortzoglou, still handcuffed, dialled 000 using his nose.
Three men were later seen drinking alcohol in a white van, similar to that used in the robbery, and driving erratically through Dandenong, Doveton and Narre Warren.
Mr Tzortzoglou’s son Dennis Tzortzoglou, who also works at the store, said despite the ordeal, his father was back at work within hours.
“He’s pretty strong,” Dennis said.
“It was business as normal again. We sent him home after it happened but we couldn’t keep him away for long.
“He was bashed, kicked and handcuffed, and he’ll wear the emotional scars for a while, but physically he’s fine. I don’t think they intended to seriously hurt him.
“There was no major damage or stock loss, and he was not seriously injured.”
Dennis said security would be tightened at the store in the wake of Monday’s incident.
“We’ve been in business for 18 years, and it’s been 10 years since we’ve had anything serious happen.
“Last time was just a breakin and we lost some stock.”
He said the incident had served as motivation for them to upgrade the store’s security.
“Our security measures were good, but they will be improved so we are one step ahead of people like this.”
Detective Sergeant Matt Gleeson of the Armed Offenders Squad said the offenders entered the supermarket through the roof at 1am on Monday morning.
“The victim arrived at work at 4am, opened up the front door, deactivated the alarm and as he walked out the back he was ambushed by two men,” he said.
“They threatened him with hand guns and cuffed his hands behind his back.”
Det Sgt Gleeson said the offenders remained in the supermarket for an hour before loading the alcohol and cigarettes into a white van parked at the entrance to the rear roller door.
“They loaded up the van and drove off,” he said.
The men were described as being 20 to 30 years of age, and were wearing dark parachutetype tracksuits.
One man wore white runners and the other man wore white and blue runners.
Both men wore gloves and carried small handguns.
Police recovered a white, 1989 Toyota Hi Ace at Heatherton Road and Fontane Crescent in Narre Warren North about 10.30am.
The vehicle is undergoing forensic examination.
Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen anybody acting suspiciously around the Hemmings Street shops or driving a white van in and around Dandenong, Doveton and Narre Warren areas on Monday morning.
Det Sgt Gleeson said anyone with any information should phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
