KEY POINTS:
Police are appealing for information from the public after two west Auckland service stations were held up by armed robbers overnight.
In the first, two men, one armed with a pistol, smashed their way through a locked glass door of a Mobil station before making off with cash and cigarettes.
The robbery happened at the Mobil station at the intersection of Henderson Valley and Smythe Rds last night at about 10.30pm.
Detective sergeant Peter Litherland said some members of the public could have seen the two men as they spent some time on the forecourt before the robbery.
Mr Litherland said after breaking through the glass door, one of the men pointed the pistol at the lone woman working at the gas station.
He said a maroon car, similar to a Daihatsu Mira, was seen speeding down Smythe Rd and turning into Henderson Valley Rd after the robbery.
The attack was not thought to be linked to an armed robbery of another petrol station in Henderson at 3am, though Mr Litherland said it was early in the investigation.
In the later robbery, two bandana-clad robbers entered the Gull Service Station in Henderson Valley Road, pointed a gun at the attendant and demanded money.
Police said the two men, both Europeans, were wearing dark clothing and got away with an undisclosed sum of money.
Police appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area or knew anything about the robbers to call them.
- NZHERALD STAFF / NZPA
