Te Puke liquor store allegedly broken into overnight

Te Puke Super Liquor. Photo / Supplied

Bottles of spirits and gift baskets were taken from a Te Puke liquor store overnight after it was allegedly broken into.

Super Liquor Te Puke owner Ashley Peat said “someone threw a rock through the window” just before 12am.

“It set the alarm off so we came down and sort of boarded it up as best we could, reset the alarm and took off.

“But then someone, they came back and smashed the board and dumped it and helped themselves to a bit of stuff.”

Peat said between 15 and 20 bottles of spirits were taken, as were “a few other things” such as a couple of gift baskets.

He said his insurance company would cover the cost of replacing the windows, however, he would still need to pay the excess.

“You’re still out of pocket by $1000 before you start.

“It’s not the greatest way to start the week.”

Peat said the store was ram-raided about 18 months ago and he had bollards installed.

He said the store was still open for business.

A police spokesman said police responded to reports of a burglary on Jellicoe St around 1am.

“The window was initially reported broken around 11:30pm, the window was then temporarily repaired. Police are following positive lines of inquiry to locate the offenders.”