KEY POINTS:
Bank notes, not coins were targeted by five armed robbers who stormed a Rotorua bar on Sunday and bashed patrons with their gun butts to convince them they were serious.
The masked men escaped with an undisclosed amount of money after they ordered the manager of the Ruck
and Maul Tavern to empty 16 pokie machines.
Police said the robbers knew what they were doing after earlier checking out the bar and concentrated on the bank notes in the pokie machines, rather than the coins after ordering patrons at gunpoint to lie on the floor.
"My understanding is that they targeted the notes," said inquiry head Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper from the Rotorua CIB.
The robbery was well planned and the gang fled in a car stolen from a staff member to Kuirau Park where they had another getaway car waiting.
That car was possibly a maroon coloured Subaru station wagon which police were now hunting.
The robbers entered the bar about 8.30pm on Sunday. They had two firearms, one a cut down side-by-side shotgun and the other a single barrelled weapon, possibly a rifle, said Mr Loper.
"We believe they had sussed the place out. It was quite unusual to have so many involved - five of them."
During the robbery two staff members were hit with gun butts. One needed hospital treatment and stitches and the other had a swollen jaw.
He said the staff feared for their lives and believed the robbers would have no hesitation using the guns.
"It was driven home when a couple of them were assaulted in front of the rest of them.
"They had firearms there. We can only assume they were loaded and they were going to use them," Mr Loper said.
Mr Loper warned anyone hiding the robbers that they would also be charged once the five had been caught.
"Someone is going to know about this. Five of them makes it easier to be caught. Someone else knows who is involved."
He said the police also needed help to track down the getaway car the robbers used after they dumped the staff member's grey Nissan Primera.
"We are looking for anyone who may have seen that Subaru," Mr Loper said.
Two of the robbers wore balaclavas and the others wore white paper face masks.
Mr Loper said one of the men in a balaclava was heavily built, between 167cm and 175cm tall. He also wore white gloves, light coloured footwear and a long sweatshirt. He carried a bag and the sawn-off firearm, probably the shotgun.
The second man was also solidly built, between 183cm and 188cm tall. He wore white gloves, a dark jacket and light-coloured pants, possibly jeans. He carried the single-barrelled firearm.
- NZPA