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A West Auckland dairy owner wants to thank two mystery men who put their lives at risk to help catch a fleeing burglar.
Kaurilands Superette owner Uresh Patel and his family have been left traumatised after a group stormed his shop yesterday evening, ripping the till from the counter andstealing cigarettes.
In the minute-long raid, the embattled Atkinson Ave shopkeeper said he was injured when he grabbed one of the youths in a bid to stop him from running off.
Two offenders were found by police at an address on Westward Ho Rd in Glen Eden and were arrested “without further incident”, a police spokesperson said.
Another in the group was held in the store by a member of the public before being apprehended by police. One person remains at large.
“We are victims. These robbers came in and took everything from us. Police told us to shut our shop then and there and we lost a lot of business in an already struggling time.
“Why is nobody helping us?”
Referring to the late Janak Patel, the dairy worker fatally stabbed in Sandringham, Manisha said everyone attended the funeral but change had not yet been seen.
“A life was lost but nothing changed. These ram raids, burglaries, they keep happening. In the beginning, there was less crime but past year it has gone through the roof.
“The petrol station next door, GAS was robbed twice this month.
“I want to ask the government if we pay all our taxes then why are we not getting any help?
“If we can’t punish the children then we should do something about parents. We have bills to pay too, all our hard-earned money is gone.”
Patel said there was an urgent need for stricter laws for underage offenders.
“Crime is unsafe at any age,” he said.
“We need it to stop before it takes over everyone in the country.”
The three arrested youths have since been referred to Youth Aid while police continue to make inquiries into the person at large.
Police urged anyone who was in the vicinity of Atkinson Rd about 5.30pm yesterday and witnessed the incident to call 105, and quote event number P053795530, or people can give information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
