Gone in 40 seconds: cigarettes stolen in Waimamaku ram raid

Cigarettes were taken in a ram raid of a rural Northland supermarket after a stolen van was used to smash through the front doors.

It took just 40 seconds for the driver to reverse through the doors of the Waimamaku Four Square, break into the cigarette cabinet and then flee just before 5.30am yesterday. Owner Bruce Lomas said security camera footage showed a person wearing a hooded sweatshirt going into the shop and taking the cigarettes valued at a couple of thousand dollars.

Luckily, he said, there were no pouches of tobacco on site and police had responded quickly.

Despite the damage he opened the State Highway 12 business, that also doubles as the local post shop, yesterday. It's not the first time the shop has been ram raided.

"Last time they completely smashed the doors and the window shattered. These doors will have to be repaired but it could have been a lot worse," Lomas said.

Senior Sergeant John Fagan said the 2011 Nissan NV200 light van, with the registration plate KPN414, was driven off towards Dargaville on SH12.

The vehicle was reported stolen from the Dargaville Medical Centre earlier in the morning.

Fagan said there were reports of the vehicle being spotted in the Aranga area south of the Waipoua Forest after the ram raid.

Officers in the area have been carrying out enquiries to locate the vehicle and its occupants.

"We encourage people in the area to report any suspicious activity straight away to police," Senior Sergeant John Fagan said.

"Obviously this has caused considerable damage to the store, and police would like to hear from any person who has information regarding this incident."

Anyone with information about the ram raid can contact their nearest police station or anonymously on Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.