Machete muggings

Photo / Doug Sherring, Thinkstock

A machete-wielding gang went on a crime spree across Auckland yesterday, robbing six people of their cash and cellphones in a string of street muggings.

In just over two hours early yesterday, the gang - three Pakeha men and one woman in their late-teens or early-20s - robbed pedestrians in the CBD, Mission Bay, Mt Eden and Balmoral.

None of the victims was injured but police said they were "very, very scared".

The gang of four was still on the loose last night and police appealed to the public for help.

The gang's first attack was on Dominion Rd in Mt Eden at 3.10am. They struck again in Mission Bay at 3.48am, then on Customs St near Market Place at 4.30am.

The last mugging took place in Epsom on the intersection of Balmoral and St Andrews Rds at 5.24am.

Balmoral Rd resident Zahid Malak said he heard someone screaming outside his house at that time.

"It was a big scream. It was very scary. I went outside and the screaming stopped," he said. "Then I heard people yelling and swearing and a guy shouting, 'Run, run'.

"I saw one boy and one girl running and they turned and ran across the road."

Detective Sergeant Andy King said police were talking to six victims.

Two had been by themselves when they were attacked; the others were in pairs.

All were in their late-teens or early-20s.

"They were just members of the public walking home from a night out," King said.

"Some had been to friends' parties, others had been in town."

They described the machete as a "big bladed knife".

"The victims were extremely intimidated," he said. "Very, very scared.

"They came straight to police very shaken."

A maroon or purple sedan car was possibly being used by the gang. It had been seen only in the first attack, on Dominion Rd near Lisnoe Ave.

But given the timings and the geographical spread of the attacks, police believed a car had been used by the gang.

"They were dressed in dark coloured hooded sweatshirts, and the female is believed to have blonde hair tied in a plait," King said.

Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett was horrified to hear of the violent attacks.

"Anybody threatening the safety and security of the community should not be tolerated.

"It is of concern to the community, especially because they were threatening people with a machete. What were they prepared to do to threaten and steal?"

He was particularly concerned about how the rampage would affect Auckland's reputation in the lead up to the Rugby World Cup, and called for more action from local and central governments.

Violence was escalating in the city and suburbs, Barnett said.

"People need to be aware these sorts of things are going on. We need more patrols, more security, more CCTV.

"We should not be living in fear and we should not be waiting for people to be killed to do something about it."

He said nothing had changed since Justice Minister Simon Power announced a package of initiatives to address New Zealand's emerging knife-crime problem in July last year.

The measures included increased penalties for possession of an offensive weapon and limiting the sale of knives through a voluntary accord with retailers.

The report on reducing knife crime revealed stabbing offences had risen from 1097 in 1999 to 1750 in 2008.

Do you have information? Call police on (09) 302 6653.