Bayfair Shopping Centre ram raid: Mount Maunganui mall targeted by thieves

Damage at a Bayfair store this morning. Photo / Christian Froehlich

A mall worker says staff have “had enough” after two Bayfair stores were targeted during a ram raid this morning.

Police were called to a burglary in which a stolen car was used to gain entry to the Girven Rd shopping centre about 5am, a police spokesman said.

Police declined to say how far the vehicle was driven inside the mall. Once inside, the offenders broke into two stores.

The spokesman said police saw the vehicle travelling away from the centre about 5.10am and began a pursuit which was aborted a short time later due to safety concerns.

Police said the vehicle was found abandoned with some stolen items still inside on Concord Ave about 5.30am.

The vehicle was towed to be examined.

Inquiries were ongoing, police said. Police would comment on how many people were believed to be involved or the kind of goods stolen.

A Bayfair Shopping Centre spokeswoman said the mall was open today following the ram raid.

She said the break-in happened about 4.50am and police were “conducting a full investigation”.

Clean-up at Bayfair following a ram raid this morning. Photo / Christian Froehlich

One retail worker in the mall said she feared this ram raid would not be the last.

The woman, who spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times on the condition of anonymity, said the store she works in was not targeted in this morning’s incident.

She said she believed the ram raiders “don’t care… they wouldn’t care if they ran anyone over”.

She said staff have “had enough”. She said it was “frustrating when you’re just trying to make a living” and it was “very scary for workers”.

The woman had been in retail for more than 30 years and said: “You never saw anything like this”.

”You had shoplifting, but nothing like this.”