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Crooks restrained employee with zip ties during Maspeth smoke shop heist: NYPD

Maspeth smoke shop
Cops are looking for three men who allegedly robbed a Maspeth smoke shop at gunpoint Saturday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of NYPD)

Police from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood are looking for a gunman and his two accomplices who robbed a Maspeth smoke shop in broad daylight Saturday afternoon, according to authorities.

Police say the three suspects entered the store at 64-25 Grand Ave. just before 2:30 p.m. on May 14. Two of them approached an employee and displayed a firearm, police said.

They then used zip ties to restrain the worker’s hands behind his back and grabbed approximately $1,800 from the cash register and nearly $6,500 in merchandise before running off northbound on Grand Avenue. The Maspeth shop employee did not sustain any injuries as a result of the incident, police said.

The NYPD released surveillance video that shows one of the suspects cocking his handgun and menacing the employee as a second man scrambles over the counter and begins stuffing a bag with merchandise.

Maspeth smoke shop
Photo courtesy of NYPD

The alleged gunman wore a black hooded jacket with black pants and the second man wore a black hooded jacket with a Nike swoosh logo.

The third man wore a black jacket and black knit cap and blue jeans and had a smoke as he acted as a lookout.

Anyone with information in regard to the identity of the suspects is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.