CCTV footage shows the horrific moment when a shop owner was threatened at knifepoint as two robbers stole €20,000 worth of goods.

Syed Adnan Shah is the owner of Mr iPhone in Phibsborough which was left "practically empty" after the vicious robbery.

He was on the phone to a family member back in India when two men came into his shop enquiring about an iPhone 6.

They negotiated price with Syed telling one of the men that it would cost €180

As he turned his back and went to take one of the phones from inside the display on the window, he was immediately cornered and threatened.

Syed told Dublin Live: "It was Monday at 10:30am. The man in the grey tracksuit was asking all the questions. He had gloves on but his hands were in his pockets at the start and he seemed like a normal customer.

"The other man didn't say anything to me but the two of them were talking quietly to each other at first.

"When I went to get the phone for him, the man in grey took a big knife out and threatened me with it. It was about three inches wide and six inches long."

Soon, the two men were demanding that Syed give them all the phones in his shop.

He added: "One of the men ripped the heavy gold chain from my neck which is worth two grand alone.

"The second guy locked the door of the shop from the inside and then came inside the counter to fill the bags he had with phones.

"He kept saying to me that if I shouted, he would stab me and before long, he was demanding the shop keys and my wallet."

Syed thought that if he jumped over the counter - as seen in the video - he would be able to get to the door quickly to unlock it and call for help.

"The store counter is higher than it was originally because my shop was robbed before. It's 5ft 6 now and when I jumped over it, I landed on the ground."

The two men followed Syed over the counter and this is when things took an even more dangerous turn.

"They were faster than me and grabbed me before I could reach the door.

"One of the men pushed me back and I fell on the floor again. He then dragged me inside to the toilet which is just as you come in the door and tried to stab me."

"He tried to overpower me but he wasn't strong enough and I was able to hold him off.

"I didn't look at his face once. I kept looking at the knife and I kept thinking to myself that this would be my last day on earth."

Syed broke free and managed to lock himself in the toilet of the shop where he watched their next move.

"There's monitors in the toilet so I turned them on and watched as they continued to raid the shop.

"They left within a minute after I locked myself in the toilet. I could see their movements from the outside camera. They ran towards the city.

Syed heartbreakingly admitted that the business that he had built up from scratch over the last few years had been "destroyed in just five minutes".

"I work very hard to try and provide a decent life for my family and myself. I didn't show my wife or children that I was upset but I was devastated. I was sad because I built that business from the ground up."

He closed the shop on Monday after the attack took place but was opened for business again on Tuesday.

Syed continued: "I have no insurance".

"It would cost around €5,000 to cover the shop and I couldn't afford it at the time. So there's no way of getting the money back unless the phones are retrieved.

"If the phones are gone, it's very hard to make money obviously. But it's harder to make money if the shop is not open.

"I still have to pay rent and bills. I can't afford to pay any employees so I work in the shop myself every day.

"On a very good day, I might make a profit of €100-200. If I'm not open, I'm losing money."

Syed wanted to share the video in the hope of catching the perpetrators but more importantly, moving one step closer to retrieving the stolen items.

He concluded: "Hundreds of people have saw the video already as I have shared it on my personal page and on the shop's Facebook page.

"Hopefully someone will be able to identify the culprits and that I'll be able to get my phones back, otherwise the immediate future is looking extremely bleak."

In a statement to Dublin Live, a spokeswoman for the gardaí said they "are investigating a robbery which occurred at a premises in Phibsboro, Dublin 7 on Monday 10th of June 2019 at approximately 10:30am.

"Two males entered the premises and one allegedly produced a knife and threaten the owner of the shop.

"A number of items were taken. No injuries were sustained and investigations are ongoing."

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