Two gunmen walked into the Meta Airlines Office on Church Street yesterday under the pretext of enquiring about purchasing a ticket and held up two women before escaping with some $85, 000 in cash, jewellery and two cellular phones.

The incident occurred around 9:20 yesterday morning while the two employees were settling in.

Police said last evening that investigations revealed that service agent Jeanette Gouveia and clerk Ronell Franklin were in the office when the two men entered, held them at gunpoint and took away $31,000, US$271, two cell phones and a quantity of jewellery and escaped on a motor cycle.

When Stabroek News arrived on the scene the police were still conducting their investigations.

Persons working close by were unaware of the robbery until the heavily armed policemen arrived.

One woman said that she was in her work place when a man who is connected to the airline told her that there had just been a robbery. The woman said that she was shocked as it happened so close to her and she knew nothing.

This newspaper was told that from all appearances the two men had several accomplices as a grey-coloured bus was parked in front of the office and left shortly before the alarm was raised.

One man said that he saw a man racing down Church Street on a bicycle and he dashed into Peter Rose Street before disappearing. He said he thought nothing of it until he heard of the robbery shortly after.

Stabroek News was told that police were promptly informed about the incident but mistook the crime scene for a diamond and gold business several corners away. By the time they had gotten the right directions and arrived at Meta the bandits were long gone.

Meta Airlines which has been in operation for some time offers regular flights to Suriname and Brazil. This newspaper was told that they had never been the victim of an armed robbery before yesterday.