Police arrest three men who allegedly shoplifted thousands of dollars worth of items

Police have laid more than 40 charges against three shoplifters who allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of items across Auckland.

Frontline Police in Auckland City arrested three men this week, two of whom have since been remanded in custody.

Auckland City West Police Inspector Wayne Kitcher said the alleged value of the shoplifted items was tens of thousands of dollars.

“These men have allegedly been stealing a range of food, cosmetic and clothing items from retailers in Mt Albert and wider west Auckland,” he said.

“Staff working on our Public Safety Teams made the arrests this week, and between all three of them 43 charges have been laid.”

A 24-year-old man is facing 18 shoplifting charges, a 31-year-old man is facing 12 shoplifting charges and a 30-year-old man is facing 13 shoplifting charges.

Each of them is before the Auckland District Court.

“We are continuing to focus our efforts on targeting those who are the most prolific in offending against retailers,” Kitcher said.

“The number of charges and value of items allegedly stolen here reflects the level of harm inflicted on the retailers.”

Area staff are continuing to work alongside the National Retail Investigation Support Unit (NRISU), which is targeting repeat offenders, police said.

“The unit continues to identify and facilitate the apprehension of the most prolific and harmful retail crime offenders across the country.”

Today’s arrests come a day after another person was apprehended after attempting to steal 241 blocks of Whittaker’s Chocolate from a South Auckland supermarket in one go.

In one incident, the man left a supermarket with 241 blocks of Whittaker’s Chocolate, valued at $1349.60.

“Fortunately, on-site security staff were able to lock the trolley, which the offender has then tried to drag before it has tipped over and all items were recovered before he got too far,” Counties Manukau South Senior Sergeant MJ Riddle said.