A criminal gang who hijacked a supermarket in Malmö, southern Sweden, proceeded to run the shop for more than a day before police stepped in.

The gang, a group of men aged 21 to 28, entered the shop in central Malmö and threw out the staff working there.

They tricked shoppers that all was normal by telling them the till system had broken down, and that payments had to be made in cash or via a smartphone app.

Business as usual: When police arrived at the shop some 24 hours after the hijacking, they observed the four suspects, aged 21 to 28, 'restocking shelves and taking payments'

The gang had reportedly targeted the shop owners for months, trying to blackmail them and threatening them in their home using weapons.

The persistent threats had finally forced the owners to stay with friends in Denmark for a respite, letting acquaintances run the shop.

Local news report that the criminal gang had taken this opportunity to return to the shop on Wednesday this week.

'They walked into the shop and took over it,' Mats Attin of Malmö Police told Sydsvenskan.

By which I mean, they threw out the staff and continued to run the shop and sell products. They hijacked a supermarket!'

Hijacking: The criminal gang tricked shoppers that all was normal by telling them the till system had broken down, and that payments had to be made in cash or via a smartphone app

As the suspects were unable to gain entry to the till system, they told unsuspecting shoppers that they could only accept cash, or payments on a popular money-transfer app.

The staff that had been thrown out later said they were too scared to report the incident to police, and the criminal gang ran the shop for at least 24 hours.

When news of the hijacking finally reached the owners, they called police and a patrol was sent to the scene.

'Police were initially trying to verify the claims, and witnessed how business went on as usual,' said police spokesman Nils Norling.

'They re-stocked shelves and were trading over the counter.'

Police say there is CCTV showing the four suspects running the shop 'as usual'.

After calling in reinforcements, armed police stormed the shop and arrested the four men, aged 21, 24, 25 and 28. At least one of the men have previous convictions.

'I've been in Malmö for a long time, but I've never seen anything like it,' Mr Attin adds.