KEY POINTS:
A West Auckland robbery took only four seconds - but that was enough for a thug to leave a shopkeeper with a swollen eye, then escape with hundreds of dollars from the till.
The robbery, at Henderson's Discount Food Mart on Saturday night, was one of six in West Auckland during the past week. At least two have involved violence and left shopkeepers injured but police say there doesn't seem to be any links between the incidents.
Two of the six have been solved, one with the help of a group of teens who chased the robber before dragging him back to the New Lynn police station.
In one of the most recent cases, police are still hunting for the man, who was captured on security camera punching a shopkeeper in the face at the Discount Food Mart in Rathgar Rd.
Ketan Patel said he was alone in the dairy about 8.30pm when a young man walked in and grabbed a king-sized block of chocolate, which he placed on the counter before walking over to the door.
After checking there were no other customers or pedestrians nearby, he returned to the counter and handed over a $5 note.
"I just opened the drawer to give him the change and at the same time I pushed the button, he punched me, then took all the money," said Mr Patel.
The raider was seen leaving in a car parked outside the dairy. He was wearing a black hoodie with white writing on the front and dark shorts.
Mr Patel was left with a black eye.
* The next morning, the dairy next door to the Discount Food Mart was also robbed, when thieves broke in through the ceiling. They stole the till - which was empty - and hundreds of packets of cigarettes, estimated to be worth thousands of dollars.
THE WILD WEST FILES
Mon 27 - Fuda Superette, Rankin Ave, New Lynn. Robbery, solved.
Tue 28 - Westview Superette, Titirangi Rd, Titirangi. Attempted Robbery, unsolved.
Wed 29 - Gull Service Station, Portage Rd, New Lynn. Robbery, unsolved.
Fri 31 - Great North Rd Superette, Kelston. Robbery, solved.
Sat 01 - Discount Food Mart, Rathgar Rd, Henderson. Robbery, unsolved.
Sun 02 - Rathgar Super Seven, Rathgar Rd, Henderson. Robbery, unsolved.
* Anyone with information about the man caught on camera during Saturday's robbery is asked to contact Detective Steve Norris on (09) 839 0638.
