File photo / NZ Herald
A takeaway bar is the latest business to be targeted by a knife-wielding masked robber in Northland.
Police are now appealing for help to identify the man involved in the aggravated robbery of Whau Valley Takeaways in Whangarei last night.
The man entered the Whau Valley Takeaways, on Kamo Road, about 9pm as staff were cleaning up.
Police say he was wearing a dark coloured hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and had concealed his face with a bandana.
He was also wearing dark coloured long pants.
The man was armed with a large knife, which he presented at the shop staff and demanded cash.
The offender was only in the store for a short time before he left, still armed with the knife.
A police dog handler tracked him from Burling Avenue to the Jack Street area before losing the trail.
Detective Sergeant Shane Pilmer, from the Whangarei Criminal Investigation Branch, is appealing for the public's help in relation to the incident.
"There will be people in our community who will know who this person is. We need their help in identifying him. He will be someone's family member and someone's friend," Mr Pilmer said.
Any information will be treated confidentially and those with information can contact Mr Pilmer on 09 430 4589 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
It is the ninth robbery in which people, all believed to have been men, armed with weapons have confronted business owners and demanded money or cigarettes in a month.
That includes the Whau Valley Takeaways, which is the third business in a week - all within less than a kilometre of each other on Kamo Rd - to be targeted. On Tuesday Patel's Foodmarket was robbed by three men with weapons and the previous Wednesday a man with a gun held up the Vegie Twins for cash.
A fire is burning on Black Jack Road in the Coromandel. Video / Katie Dee