Robbery suspect armed and dangerous

Toko Manahi. Photo / Supplied

A Mongrel Mob member believed to have followed a shopkeeper home to rob him at gunpoint is armed and dangerous and loose in the community.

Police consider Toko Manahi, 47, a threat to public safety and are appealing for help to track him down.

Police believe Manahi followed the man from his Papatoetoe shop to his Wallace Rd home.

They believe Manahi is hiding out in the Mangere area and driving a blue Mitsubishi Legnum.

The aggravated robbery is one of 13 in Mangere, Mangere Bridge, Papatoetoe and Otahuhu being investigated by detectives as part of a clampdown on robbery in South Auckland.

They are also looking for a number of men following three aggravated robberies in four days. Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Pizzini said there was nothing to suggest the incidents were linked, but robbers rarely did one-off hits.

The first occurred about 3.30pm last Friday at an Orly Rd takeaway. Three 15-year-old boys were threatened with a knife. The male robber demanded the boys' cellphones and ran out of the store.

About 8pm the same day, four teenagers walking along Ti Rakau Drive in Botany were threatened by two men armed with a pistol and a screwdriver. The pair demanded money and cellphones and took off on foot.

About 11.20pm on Monday on Ormiston Rd, Botany, a 25-year-old woman was walking home from work when she was threatened by three men armed with a hammer.

The men snatched her handbag and took off in a grey sedan.

Anyone with information is asked to call Counties-Manukau police on (09) 261-1300.