Man arrested after armed robberies in Lower Hutt

File photo / NZ Herald

A 19-year-old man has been arrested after a string of aggravated robberies at Lower Hutt shops this morning.

A firearm was used in the robberies in Taita and Stokes Valley around 8am, in which cash and cigarettes were stolen by a man in disguise. The shops targeted were dairies and a bookshop, Detective Sergeant Mike Sears said.

The same man had entered several other shops in the Hutt Valley as early as 7am.

The man was arrested this afternoon after a search of a Stokes Valley house, in which the AOS took part. A handgun was also found.

He will appear in the Lower Hutt District Court on Monday charged with aggravated robbery. Further firearms charges were likely, Mr Sears said.

"We were dealing with 3 victims who had been subjected to very violent assaults," Mr Sears said.

Police wanted information about a suspicious-looking man wearing dark trousers and a red hooded sweatshirt, driving a white saloon, around shops in the Hutt Valley.

Police were also investigating whether other people were involved.

- NZPA