Auckland tiny home burglary leaves Haka Homes owner stunned after theft

The owner of an Auckland tiny home construction company is stunned after finding one of his cabins blocking the middle of a busy West Auckland road after a daring pre-dawn heist.

Haka Homes owner William Dewa told the Herald he was shocked when he received a call from the police in the early hours of this morning informing him that one of his cabins was in the middle of the Great North Rd in Glen Eden.

“It is really surprising to me,” said Dewa.

“Police rang me and when I got there officers had blocked the road. I saw my cabin in the middle with ACE Towing truck.

“It was being stolen by some people.

“We don’t know how many are involved. Police are still investigating.”

Dewa said the stolen cabin had been damaged and it would take at least $10,000 to repair the side of it.

“The plating needs to be changed completely.

“The towing company also sent me $7000 bill. I want to ask them why they are charging me, they should charge the people who tried to steal it.”

He said the cabin had now being taken away by police to a truck yard for examination.

A man who lives next door to where the tiny home had been sitting first thought something fishy was up yesterday around 10.30am.

“I saw this guy in the property next door and they were taking off the platform kind of thing in front of the cabin and they put it in the truck and went off.”

The man said he didn’t investigate further as he was busy at the time.

Then, at around 4.30am today, he said he heard a “big bang”.

“Somebody was breaking something with a hammer.”

He said he saw two men in the same truck ripping the cabin off from the ground.

“They took it off the property but as soon as they started making the turn, they got stuck on the kerb.

“I sat inside because I did not know what they had in their hands and I didn’t want to go and confront them because I was alone and it was dark.”

He told the Herald he stayed awake and saw a police patrol car arrive.

“They started calling other units and they called an ambulance and fire brigade and all that stuff.”

He believed one of the men had accidentally been hit by the truck.

A police spokesperson had said the section of the road between Henderson and New Lynn was closed due to a crash between a truck and a car.

Police responded to the crash around 5.12am.

“One person has received moderate injuries and been transported to hospital,” a police spokesperson said.

The tiny home was being carried by the truck involved in the crash.

A police spokesperson said officers were investigating and looking into an allegation of burglary.

Akula Sharma is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2022. She has previously worked at the Gisborne Herald.

Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers social issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.