A SUSPENDED police officer was among three men arrested over a robbery in a heavily armed police sting on the streets of Cabramatta yesterday.

Police brandishing machineguns were lying in wait to swoop on the three men dressed as “tradies” as they attempted ­­­to rob a woman at a money-trading business on John St just after 10.30am.

media_camera Twitter image posted by David Bartowski shows a police special response team taking down an unnamed man in Cabramatta. Picture: Twitter / David Bartowski

The suspended officer, pictured above, is senior constable Ashur Oshana, who has previously been decorated for bravery. The Daily Telegraph understands the senior constable was a member of a southwest Regional Enforcement Squad prior to his suspension and was under investigation.

He was a decorated NSW police officer, having been awarded a Police Commissioner’s citation for outstanding service and bravery.

The arrested men, one of whom was wearing a high-visibility vest, wig and earpiece, were handcuffed and held on the ground by armed officers from the Tactical Response Unit wearing balaclavas.

media_camera One of the suspects lays on the road after being taken down by heavily armed police.

Hundreds of morning shoppers watched in shock as the dramatic scenes unfolded in the main street of Cabramatta.

The arrests were part of an ongoing operation involving the elite covert investigation unit — led by the Professional Standards Command — which had been investigating Oshana.

media_camera The disguise that one of the men wore lays in the street.

“Three people have been ­arrested following a targeted operation by the Professional Standards Command and the South West Metropolitan ­Region in Cabramatta,” a police spokesman said. “A suspended officer is one of the three arrested following a robbery in John St.

“The operation is ongoing and, as it is the early stages of the arrest phase, it is not ­appropriate to make any further comment at this time.”

Police confirmed the alleged offence in Cabramatta “did not involve firearms”.

Police pounced on the trio as they attempted to rob a woman of her weekend takings, believed to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, at a money transfer business. They were aware of the group’s plans and had been monitoring the business since Friday.

media_camera Another man is led away by detectives. Photo: John Grainger

media_camera Police stand guard as a suspect lies handcuffed on the ground.

media_camera A wig and cap on the ground

A bystander was treated by paramedics at the scene after he was accidentally hit with pepper spray in the ordeal.

Witnesses said a fight broke out between the would-be robbers and another man trying to intervene at the scene, before officers swooped in.

“They tried to rob a woman with a big bag of money,” delivery driver Paul Guymer said.

“I was getting my delivery out of the back of my truck and I heard a woman screaming and there were two men struggling in the gutter.”

Mr Guymer said he was about to intervene “when a cop in a balaclava with a machinegun came between us. He told the workers and me to get inside and then they slammed him into the footpath and knocked his wig off. They (the police) had to know about it.’’

The three men, all aged 29, were last night charged with armed robbery and stealing. They were refused bail and will appear before Liverpool Local Court today.