Brookfield Superette was held up by two men on Friday night. PHOTO/JOHN BORREN
Two Tauranga dairies were targeted by armed robbers in a 23-hour period during the weekend.
Brookfield Superette was held up by two men wielding an axe and a hammer on Friday about 8.30pm.
Less than 23 hours later Busy Bee Dairy was also robbed by two men, one with a hammer and one with a baseball bat.
Brookfield Superette store assistant Navneet Kaur said the owner of the store, Baldish Kaur, was checking the locks on the front door when two men barged past her and into the store.
The men screamed at the store owner and a relative while Ms Kaur ran into an office to call the police and hide.
"One of the men had a hammer, the other an axe. They were shouting at us. They wanted cigarettes but the cabinet was locked."
Ms Kaur said the owner told the men she would give them the cash if they did not hurt anyone.
CCTV footage of the event showed the two men rush behind the counter and try to get into the locked cigarette stand. When they could not open it they turned to the till, smashed it off the bench, picked it up and ran away.
The whole incident was over in one and half minutes, she said.
Ms Kaur said the incident was scary but was relieved nobody got hurt.
"That's the most important thing. Money comes and goes."
A police media statement said the men were described as mid-height and slim-to-medium build. They had black scarves covering their faces.
One was wearing a black hoodie and a black basketball singlet with a green 9 on it. The other was wearing a black jacket with a grey and white checked top underneath.
The two men took a sum of money before leaving on foot, the statement read.
The same dairy was almost robbed last month when a masked gunman demanded a bag full of cash.
After last month's attempt owner Baldish Kaur told the Bay of Plenty Times she accused the robber of using a fake gun and threw the empty bag back in his face.
A police statement said Busy Bee Dairy on Maunganui Rd was robbed by two men armed with a baseball bat and a hammer at 7pm on Saturday.
The robbers stole cash, cigarettes and tobacco as well as causing some damage to the store, the police statement said.
The men were described as Maori, with dark clothing and dark scarves over their faces.
One of the men was thought to be aged between 18 and 20-years-old and had a small amount of facial hair.
The event was understandably traumatising for the staff at the dairy, police said.
Police had not made any arrests last night and were asking anyone with information on these two crimes or who knew of cigarettes being sold cheaply, to call Tauranga central police on (07) 577 4300.
Alternatively, anonymous information can be reported to CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.
Jefferies and family will enjoy a leg of lamb with summer sides.