A Māngere supermarket had at least $20,000 of damage in an overnight ram raid with offenders making off with beer and cigarettes.
Police responded to reports of the burglary on Raglan St, at around 2.45am this morning.
In a statement, a police spokesperson said a vehicle was used to gain entry to the building.
“Offenders took property, before fleeing in a different vehicle.
“Police initiated a short pursuit before abandoning due to the offenders’ dangerous manner of driving.”
The vehicle later crashed into a fence in Treagon Place, Papatoetoe.
Both vehicles have since been towed and will undergo a forensic examination.
The store owner Aman Bains said it would take them weeks to get back to normal.
“They drove the four-wheel drive through the electric fence, then a steel shutter door, and then a concrete wall to gain entry to the store,” he said.
“All they took were three boxes of beer and cigarettes.
“But for three boxes of beer they have done easily, at the least, $20,000 worth of damage.”
He said the electric fence poles will more than likely need to be cut down and replaced with new ones.
“We need to get a builder involved with the shutter door, it’s likely a structural issue and they have knocked down a concrete wall inside the building.
“In terms of inside, they have knocked out a small kitchen for the staff and, in doing so, and have damaged the water and power supply to the store.”
Bains said it was when, not if, such an incident was going to happen.
“It’s quite frustrating because there are no consequences for these guys and they will keep doing it.”
The number of ram raids is falling, according to police data highlighted by Labour last week after National Party leader Christopher Luxon claimed there were two ram raids per day.
Labour police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen said there had been a 70 per cent reduction in ram raids from their peak of 116 a month in August 2022.
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