Vapeys Vape Store in Panmure, Auckland was ram raided overnight. Photo / Supplied
Vapeys Vape Store in Panmure, Auckland was ram raided overnight. Photo / Supplied
Staff at an Auckland vape store that had been open for less than three months are reeling after being ram raided overnight.
CCTV footage shows five people wearing hoodies and black clothes stealing hundreds of products and an unknown amount of cash from Vapeys Vape Store in Panmure after driving a car through the glass entrance.
They first tried to break in using a weapon to open the door, but that did not work, store manager Guna told the Herald.
The car was reversed into the glass entrance of the Vapeys Vape Store in Panmure, Auckland. Photo / Supplied
"They had a spanner or something like that, but that didn't work, so they reversed their car into the shop. It all happened in a matter of minutes.
"We have all glass cabinets, they started breaking everything and they took as much as they can."
The burglars can be seen stuffing bags with items from shelves among shards of glass from broken cabinets during the theft which took place around 4am.
Someone nearby heard the alarm and called police, Guna said.
Guna woke to the bad news in a phone call from his boss early this morning.
"Everything [was] scattered...glass was everywhere," he said.
"Most of the products they can't even use it now because... they have glass particles inside."
He told the Herald police forensic staff were carrying out a scene examination today, and now he has to clean up the store.
It's believed hundreds of products were stolen and cash. Photo / Supplied
Because of the current alert level 4 Covid-19 restrictions, Guna said he will have to do it alone as staff want to keep the bubble small.
He said he's worried about getting cut by the glass because the store, which he tried so hard to keep clean every day, is "completely messed [up]".
"Everyone is feeling so sad, so bad, and no one can even come in...because most of our staff are from North Shore."
Vapeys Vape Store in Panmure was destroyed by thieves just months after opening. Photo / Supplied
Guna said this was the first incident in the store, but one of their sister stores, Birkenhead Suprette, had a break-in last week.
Vapeys Vape Store is a chain that has premises across Auckland's North Shore, but this was the first building in east Auckland.
Police said they received a report of a burglary at a shop on Jellicoe Rd about 4.35am on Thursday where a window had been smashed and a number of items stolen.
Police have been speaking to the store owner and have been making a number of enquiries to identify and locate those responsible, including reviewing CCTV footage.
