Downtown Vancouver vape store robbed of thousands in merchandise and cash

A vape and tobacco store on Smithe Street in downtown Vancouver was hit hard after the owner says two suspects stole thousands of dollars in merchandise and cash.

The robbery at knifepoint happened in broad daylight Friday morning. It was caught on surveillance video.

The video shows two suspects walking down Smithe Street and entering Smoke and Food, located near Granville Street, just before 10 a.m. The manager, Syed Razee Uddin Ahmed, says he was blindsided when one of the suspects pulled a large knife, forcing him to open the till.

“He placed his knife towards my stomach and said if I do anything, he will stab me,” Ahmed recalled. “So he threatened me to open the till and lay down on the ground.”

A surveillance video shows a robber clearing the till after threatening the manager at Smoke and Good store with a knife Friday morning on March 10, 2023. (Angela Bower / CityNews)

Ahmed was held against his will with his head faced down on the ground and his hands covering his head. One of the suspects can be seen in the video filling a black Adidas duffle bag with merchandise.

The two suspects fled the store and the manager called the police.

“I was shocked. It was all of a sudden,” Ahmed said.

Related: Vancouver police warn of downtown purse-snatchings

The store’s owner, Armughan Tahir, says the robbers took over $7,000 worth of merchandise and cash. He says he’s been robbed many times before, but this time was different.

“The situation from the last five months is getting very worse, like it’s been four times, break-ins. And this kind of incident never happened before with the weapon that put somebody’s life in danger, to put the knife on someone. The worst thing is that it happened in broad daylight, with people outside. This is a busy street but they don’t hesitate to do this,” Tahir said.

Statistics from the Vancouver Police Department show reports of robbery have gone up. In 2021 there were just over 230 robberies, while in 2022, there were almost 300.

Most recently, the VPD warned of purse snatchings, releasing five videos of people falling victim to this type of crime. One recently released video showed someone snatching a purse inside a Vancouver restaurant in broad daylight.

Meanwhile, though Ahmed did not sustain any injuries, he says he is worried about his safety, noting he’s lived in Canada for nine months and never expected this to happen here.

“I’ve been, like, traumatized from that moment. I’m not feeling safe here. Like they say, it’s a better life here, but you know, what if we are not safe?”