Two bandits on Thursday night robbed a Mahdia businessman of $1.2M and a quantity of raw gold and escaped.

One of the men was armed with a handgun, the police said in a statement. According to the police, the robbery occurred at about 7pm on Thursday at the 111 Miles, Mahdia home of Lee Jum Zhao. He operated a restaurant, this newspaper was told.

The police said that investigations revealed that Zhao was approached by the two men on the pretext that they had gold to sell. “As he opened the door to his business place he was held at gunpoint and robbed of $1.2 million and a quantity of raw gold, after which the men escaped”, the statement said.

Investigations are continuing.