Armed raiders' Queen Street haul 'potentially huge'

Two armed robbers held up a company in Auckland's main street yesterday and made off with what police say was potentially a huge sum of money.

A woman brandishing a pistol and a man wielding a knife stepped out of the lift on the fourth floor of Enterprise House at 175 Queen St about 1.40pm and burst into An Ying, a financial and educational service firm, police said.

The woman pointed the gun at the receptionist and held the elevator open while the man went to the rear of the counter, grabbed the receptionist and demanded money.

"The receptionist spoke in Mandarin and alerted other staff to call the police," said Detective Sergeant Eddie Iosefa.

"At that stage the man panicked and put an arm-lock around her neck, with the knife held at her throat."

Mr Iosefa said another staff member distracted the man, who then went to the transaction area and demanded everyone drop to the floor.

There were about 10 customers in the area at the time, Mr Iosefa said.

"The man then jumped the counter and proceeded to take cash from one of the drawers. They both left via the lift. They were in and out in a matter of minutes.

"The panic button was activated while they were still there and police arrived four minutes later, but they were gone by then.

"There were no injuries or gunshots fired, but the customers and staff were very shaken."

Mr Iosefa did not know how much money the pair got, but said it was potentially a huge sum. "It's a money transaction outlet and large amounts of money go through the company, so it may be a lot."

Police were looking at closed-circuit television tape, which captured the raid at several angles.

Mr Iosefa said police did not know in which direction the pair fled after leaving the building, nor if any other people were involved in the robbery.

He said the pair were both slim Maori or Pacific Islanders aged between 20 and 30 and wore head-coverings and dark sunglasses.

The man was about 180cm tall, and the woman was about 160cm.

Police would like people who were at the office between 1.30pm and 2pm to contact the crime squad on (09) 379- 4240, and are especially interested in speaking to a young Asian woman standing near the lifts when the pair burst in.