Multiple complaints of car theft, ram-raid robberies and aggravated assault kept Whangārei police busy on Wednesday night.
Police are investigating whether there is a link between events Wednesday night and the early hours of Thursday.
Platypus Shoes Whangārei on Cameron St was robbed at midnight, offenders driving a vehicle into the shop.
A couple of hours later, around 2.30 am, a vehicle smashed into the Bank St Foodmart. No one was in the shop at the time.