Auckland crime: Wine store burgled three times in 13 days

An Auckland wine store has been struck by thieves for the third time in less than two weeks.

In a span of 13 days, staff at the Glengarry Wines retail store on Mt Eden Rd have had to clean up the shattered glass and broken bottles left behind.

The store was first hit two days before Christmas, in the early hours of Friday, December 23. It was targeted again in the early hours of New Year’s Eve.

In the latest incident, Police were called to the store about 3.40am overnight after reports that the front window had been found smashed.

The aftermath left behind by thieves at the Glengarry Wines store on Mt Eden Rd. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Images showed the store’s front window smashed and broken glass littered on the ground outside.

A number of bottles of alcohol or wine were left behind also - seemingly dropped as the alleged thieves took off.

A witness said the store had been boarded up and emergency glass put up in replacement of the broken windows.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that a group of young people had stolen alcohol from the shop and were seen leaving in a vehicle.

“A short time later, Police staff spotted another vehicle in Mt Roskill and a group of youths fleeing from it on foot.

“Four youth were located in a garage with a quantity of alcohol and arrested.”

Asked whether any charges had been laid, Police said an outcome was still being considered while inquiries are ongoing.

In November, it was reported that Glengarry Wines stores had endured at least 42 raids around Auckland in the span of 18 months.

General manager Liz Wheadon said it has been a difficult time for all staff involved - from the family who owned the business to staff members at each shop.

“We’re just devastated. We shouldn’t be up in the middle of the night dealing with this rubbish.”

Wheadon said they had looked at CCTV security footage captured in this morning’s raid and could clearly make out at least five young people - something that continued to shock her.

“This is not the New Zealand that I grew up in,” she said.

“This is not it.”

She said the business had invested in specially-made protected glass for its various stores.

However, Police had told staff that potential thieves already had the tools to break even those.