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Halal hold up! Bensonhurst Middle Eastern food carts robbed, police say

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Armed thugs are holding up food carts in Bensonhurst, police say.

A robber snuck around the back of the Hot Halal Food Cart at the corner of 86th Street and 20th Avenue at 1:18 am on July 18, demanding the day’s take, according to investigators.

Workers were so surprised, they said they didn’t know what to do.

“He said, ‘give me your money or I shoot you,’” a terrified cart employee told Brooklyn Daily this week. “I couldn’t believe it, I was so scared.”

The worker handed the thief $50 — but he wasn’t concerned about the sudden net loss.

“I didn’t care about the money — it was my life,” he said.

The thief sped away in a white sports utility vehicle, said police, adding that three thieves raided a second food cart at the corner of 65th Street and 18th Avenue on July 20.

In that case, two men and a woman came up to the food cart window at 3:10 am and made an order. As soon as cart employee handed over the food, one of the suspects flashed a knife and demanded his money.

All three suspects ran off with $120, police said.

The victimized food cart haven’t returned to the corner in a week, say 18th Avenue merchants.

Police believe that the two heists are connected because robberies of food carts are extremely rare.

“It’s real strange,” one police source said.

Anyone with information regarding these two robberies is urged to call CrimeStoppers at (800) 577–TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

Reach reporter Will Bredderman at (718) 260–4507 or e-mail him at wbredderman@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/WillBredderman