KEY POINTS:
A gunman who bound, gagged and blindfolded a female Tauranga bar employee escaped with almost $20,000.
Armed with what was believed to be a pistol, the man entered Marty's Pool and Gaming Lounge in the central city at 11.45pm on Wednesday.
He threatened the sole woman employee, who was closing up for the night, Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier said.
The woman, who was shaken by her ordeal and suffered several bruises, was blindfolded, had something put over her head to further obscure her vision, was gagged and her hands and feet were bound.
The woman managed to alert police and was still tied up when they arrived shortly afterward.
"We spent most of yesterday going back through the complaint with the victim," Mr Brazier told NZPA today.
"There were a lot of things we needed to clarify with her after she had time to gather herself."
Today police were continuing their inquiries and looking at CCTV footage.
Mr Brazier said it was not known whether the pistol was real or imitation. The victim was not in a position to tell.
He said the amount of money stolen was just under $20,000.
The man had his face, arms and hands covered, so his ethnicity was unknown.
- NZPA
