Brimbank Embona detectives are investigating a series of armed robberies in Melbourne’s north-west suburbs over the weekend, Victoria Police say.
Three service stations were targeted by a group of up to seven men in Hillside, Laverton North and Rockbank.
In the first incident, seven men smashed their way into a service station on the Melton Highway in Hillside just after 3am on Saturday.
The group attempted to smash their way into the cigarette cabinets but failed to gain entry, instead stealing the attendant's car.
The attendant was in the cool room at the time of the incident and was uninjured.
Thirty minutes later, it’s believed the same men targeted another service station in Laverton North.
The group have entered the Little Boundary Road petrol station armed with a knife, baseball bat and hammers just before 3.30am, stealing cigarettes and a cash register.
The attendant locked himself in a back room and was uninjured.
In the latest incident, six men armed with hammers attended the Melton Highway servo just before 3.30am on Sunday.
They stole the cash register and cigarettes before fleeing in a black SUV and silver sedan.
No one was injured during the incident.
At this early stage in the investigation, detectives are treating all three incidents as linked.
Police have released CCTV and images of a number of men they believe can assist with their enquiries.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
