{"id":666000,"date":"2026-05-12T12:41:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/666000\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T12:41:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:41:19","slug":"man-arrested-after-alleged-armaguard-robbery-at-eli-waters-shopping-centre-near-hervey-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/666000\/","title":{"rendered":"Man arrested after alleged Armaguard robbery at Eli Waters shopping centre near Hervey Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man is in custody after a brazen robbery targeting an Armaguard cash-in-transit vehicle at a shopping centre on Queensland<\/a>\u2019s Fraser Coast early Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

Emergency services were called to Eli Waters Shopping Centre<\/a> on Ibis Bvd, west of Hervey Bay, at about 6.30am on Tuesday after police received reports an armed robbery was unfolding during a cash delivery operation.<\/p>\n

Police said<\/a> the offender approached two Armaguard guards as they transported cash from a van to an ATM to refill it.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPolice spoke with armoured cash courier service staff members. During that conversation they were alerted to the fact that they\u2019d been held up at gunpoint,\u201d Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield said.<\/p>\n

Mansfield said the man was armed with a gel blaster, not a firearm as initially believed.<\/p>\n

\"PartsParts of Eli Waters Shopping Centre was declared a crime scene. Credit: 7NEWS\"Police,Police, investigators and Armaguard security guards at Eli Waters Shopping Centre following the alleged heist. Credit: 7NEWS\"CCTVCCTV footage showing the alleged offender with bags of cash. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

He said a physical altercation occurred between the offender and one of the guards, during which a shot was fired by the security officer before the alleged offender fled the scene in an orange Ford Ranger carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe offender escaped with a large sum of money in his own vehicle, we believe, and fled from the scene,\u201d Mansfield said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of those security guard officers discharged his firearm, which has hit one of the tyres of that vehicle upon its escape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two guards later sought treatment for minor injuries and were described by police as shaken by the incident.<\/p>\n

CCTV footage captured from nearby businesses allegedly showed the man running from the shopping centre and loading bags into the tray of the ute before speeding away.<\/p>\n

Police later located the alleged offender\u2019s vehicle at an abandoned property on Craignish Rd at nearby Craignish, where officers confronted the man.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice challenged that vehicle as they approached it. The male person was outside of the vehicle at the time,\u201d Mansfield said.<\/p>\n

Officers confronted the man at the abandoned property before he allegedly threatened them with a knife.<\/p>\n

A police firearm was discharged during the confrontation, but the man was not hit and allegedly again fled the scene again in the Ford Ranger before abandoning the vehicle and running into nearby bushland.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice intercepted the alleged getaway vehicle, an orange Ford Ranger, on Craignish Rd in Craignish, near Hervey Bay on Queensland\u2019s Fraser Coast. Credit: 7NEWS\"DetectiveDetective Inspector Craig Mansfield addresses media following the alleged armed robbery targeting an Armaguard vehicle at Eli Waters Shopping Centre. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

He was later arrested following a foot pursuit through the area.<\/p>\n

Police have confirmed the stolen cash, described as amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, has now been fully recovered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, all money has been located and accounted for,\u201d Mansfield said.<\/p>\n

Crime scenes were established at both the shopping centre and the abandoned property as forensic investigations began.<\/p>\n

Mansfield said investigators were examining CCTV as part of inquiries into whether the robbery had been planned in advance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be alleging that there was a level of planning that\u2019s occurred leading up to this event,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The 43-year-old man is expected to appear in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court<\/a> on Wednesday charged with armed robbery.<\/p>\n

Armaguard robberies are uncommon, with only a handful of major incidents recorded over recent decades, including the 1994 Richmond heist in Melbourne<\/a>, where offenders disguised as road workers stole about $2.3 million, and a 2018 hold-up outside a shopping centre at Clemton Park in Sydney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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