Motorists attempting to pass through police checkpoints into Northland are getting creative with their excuses for travel, police commissioner Andrew Coster says. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Motorists attempting to pass through police checkpoints into Northland are getting creative with their excuses for travel, police commissioner Andrew Coster says. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Rare goose eggs and to fix a shower are some of the creative excuses motorists have attempted in order pass through police checkpoints into Northland.
Northland police have turned away a number of vehicles at checkpoints located on the intersection of State Highways 1 and 12 in the Brynderwyns; at Mountain Rd in Kaiwaka; and on Cove Rd by Bream Tail Rd.
A woman from Auckland told officers at Mountain Rd she was on a tight deadline to deliver very rare goose eggs to someone located 30km on the northern side of the checkpoint.
A man at a different checkpoint said he needed to fix a shower - 92km north of the checkpoint. While another man tried to argue that he needed to buy puppy food from Wellsford.
More serious offending was nabbed at the SH1 checkpoint with the arrest of a 21-year-old man after officers searched his vehicle.
He appeared in the Whangārei District Court on Thursday charged with unlawful possession of ammunition, possession of an offensive weapon and breaching the Health Act 1956.
Since alert level 4 came into place, 79 people have been charged nationwide as of 5pm on Thursday.
Of the 85 charges filed, 56 were for Failing to Comply with Order (Covid-19), 16 for Failure to Comply with Direction/Prohibition/Restriction, 11 for Health Act Breaches, and two for Assaults/Threatens/Hinders/Obstructs Enforcement Officer.
Of the national total, nine arrests were made in Northland.
On August 24, a couple failing to wear masks at a Kaitaia petrol station were arrested overnight. The woman allegedly coughed over an intervening police officer, before assaulting another.
Two days earlier, four people were arrested in two separate incidents in Kaikohe and Kaitaia, where police – investigating Covid breaches - found drugs, cash, and in one event a machete.
On August 19, a 44-year-old man and 23-year-old woman were arrested for disorderly behaviour and breaching the Public Health Response Act.
The pair refused to wear masks at Kaitaia's Pak'nSave supermarket and behaved threateningly towards staff.
Since police began issuing infringements for Covid related breaches on August 19, there have been 1213 on the spot fines issued nationwide.
Coster said the majority were for people undertaking non-essential movement outside their home.
In Northland, police have issued 98 infringement notices – the seventh highest number of the country's 12 police districts and well behind Canterbury which had the most issued with 246.
Overall, police had received a total of 10,239 105-online breach notifications since lockdown started. Of which 6196 were about a gathering, 3075 were about a business, and 968 were about a person.
