Police hunt 'brazen' pub bandits

Three alleged thieves enter the Indooroopilly Hotel. Photo: Supplied

Police are searching for a group of armed bandits who are believed to have robbed three pubs in Brisbane during the past month.

The men struck the Indooroopilly Hotel on May 28, the Australian National Hotel in Woolloongabba on June 6 and Moorooka’s Red Lion Hotel on June 10.

On each occasion they entered the hotels late at night armed with weapons - including a sledgehammer, an axe and a knife - before threatening staff and making off with cash.

Detective Acting Superintendent Rod Kemp said the men used stolen “high end” cars to make their getaway, including a Nissan Skyline coupe.

He said the stolen cars, which had been taken hours before the pub robberies, were later dumped.

Police believe the offences are linked because of the similar methods used in the three heists.

“We’re mindful that these people could re-offend and we’re asking the public to be super careful around licensed premises late at night,” Acting Superintendent Kemp said.

In the case of the second robbery, terrified staff were forced to hide in a room after the men entered the Woolloongabba pub about 2.30am.

“Just to walk up to a back door at the Australian National Hotel and smash the door down ... it’s incredibly brazen and overt,” he said.

The men have been wearing dark hoodies, jeans and sneakers during the robberies, Acting Superintendent Kemp said. They were of proportionate build and about 190 centimetres tall.