Thieves got away with more than £1 million sterling (€1.4 million) in alcohol, tobacco and electrical equipment after holding staff hostage at a warehouse near Belfast last night.
The robbery at the Makro warehouse near Dunmurry, in Belfast, was one of the biggest of its type in Northern Ireland for a number of years.
A gang of seven men, two of them armed, spent four hours clearing shelves before loading the goods on to a 40-foot articulated truck. None of the staff was harmed.
Chief Supt Gerry Murray said: "It was very, very well organised. These people knew exactly what they were doing."
The gang, all wearing stocking masks, struck as staff changed over at the end of a 12-hour shift. Up to five were locked in the staff canteen, but one was ordered to identify certain areas of the warehouse where the alcohol, cigarettes, fridges, washing machines and dishwashers were kept.
The lorry left the store and headed towards Belfast, possibly along the M1 motorway. The staff were eventually freed by firemen who answered an alarm call.
The heist was described by the SDLP's chairwoman Ms Patricia Lewsley as racketeering at its worst. She said: "People's lives are put in danger just to line some criminals' pockets.
"There is no excuse, no justification, and no need for this sort of activity.
"The only people who benefit from it are cruel and callous criminals.
"Anyone with any information on this crime should contact their local branch of the PSNI as soon as possible."