THE owners of the Lucky Chinese Restaurant of Lot 1 Non Pariel on the Upper East Coast of Demerara are counting their lucky stars following the foiling of a robbery at their restaurant by the police on Thursday night.

Speaking with the Chronicle newspaper yesterday, one of the operators of the restaurant explained that they had earlier sold the men two XL energy drinks and they sat at a table drinking the beverage.
The Chinese national, who did not give her name, said that as they continued to tend to other customers six police officers walked into the restaurant and ordered the customers out of the eating facility, while also ordering the operators of the restaurant to go into their living quarters.
The woman said that shortly after she heard what appeared to be tumbling then the firing of shots. Fearing for her life and that of her family the woman said that they remained in their living quarters until the shooting was over.
Upon venturing out, she said, she was informed by a customer that the two men they had earlier served were armed with guns and might have been sitting in wait to commit a robbery.
The woman said that another person informed her that the police might have received a tip-off about the men and their intentions.
However, on Thursday night, a police source told this publication that a patrol which stopped at the restaurant to purchase water for the ranks caught up with the men as they held the operators at gunpoint.
It was stated that as the police pulled up at the restaurant they caught the bandits by surprise and one of the men immediately trained his firearm in the direction of the police.
The police, taking evasive and defensive measures after the bandit opened fire, returned fire hitting one of the three men in his knee while the other two were arrested.
They were rushed to Georgetown where the injured man and his partner in crime received medical attention, while the third man was detained at the Criminal Investigation Department at Eve Leary.
The police came in for high praise for their swift approach in confronting the bandits preventing the robbery.
The police were able to recover a Keltec 9mm. Sub-Machine Gun with 9 rounds and a .38 Revolver with 2 rounds.