A South Auckland petrol station owner is furious after his store was ransacked by up to nine thieves who allegedly stole over $20,000 worth of products.
Counties Manukau Police are investigating the robbery at the Caltex on Weymouth Road, Manurewa, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Owner and manager John Howlader told the Herald around eight thieves showed up at the store in two cars during the hours of window service.
“They smashed all the glass and they came inside,” Howlader said.
“One of my employees was inside and he was so scared of them...he ran outside and tried to push the fog cannon and the alarm but it was not working.”
The employee ran into the back office and locked himself in to “save himself”.
Howlader said the thieves took around $20,000 of products including cigarettes, batteries, chargers, and two cash registers.
“The business people doing hard work, all my family working here and somebody came and took it... that’s not very good.
“The money’s gone but if my worker was gone that would really traumatise me.”
CCTV footage of the incident shows the thieves clad in hoodies and balaclavas climbing through the shattered window with a large blue bag, leaving a trail of smashed glass in their wake
“The robbery was reported to police at 2:05am, with staff arriving on the scene a short time later,” a police spokesperson said.
“Multiple offenders arrived at the store and smashed a glass window to gain entry to the premises.
“We understand this would have been a distressing incident for the member of staff, and we are working hard to hold those responsible to account.”
No one was injured during the incident.
Anyone who may have information to assist the investigation is asked to contact 105 quoting the file number 240310/9889. Information can also be reported anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
It comes as police stepped up patrols of petrol stations after a spate of robberies in the Auckland region.
On Thursday, Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said there had been five incidents across the city since Sunday - two aggravated robberies in Western Springs and Green Bay, and burglaries in Papatoetoe, Glen Eden and Remuera.
The patrols particularly focused on petrol stations that operated 24 hours a day, he said.
The vehicle was damaged while later being towed and an $11k claim by the owner followed.