Three men wielding firearms and a knife threatened a Whangarei liquor shop workers before fleeing with a substantial amount of cash and cigarettes.
The Whangarei Liquor Centre on Maunu Rd was targeted on Wednesday evening for the third time in the past four years and shop assistants who were threatened were yesterday reeling from the traumatic experience.
One employee who did not want to be identified said all three robbers wore balaclavas and entered the premises one after the other.
"The first guy had a gun which he pointed at me while at the same time moved the gun around the other two workers here," he recalled.
"The second man entered with a pistol and he was yelling 'Oh give us everything' and the third man didn't say anything but he had a very sharp knife and he came behind the counter.