An upmarket Auckland design store has been targeted by thieves who injected compressed gas into the locks and broke in, escaping with rare items worth thousands of dollars.
The hit on Bromhead Design in Gladstone Rd, Parnell, early yesterday comes just as new police figures show more than 50,000 offences were recorded between July last year and June this year.
That represented a 10.1 per cent fall and with a 14.6 per cent resolution rate. Burglaries have been a focus of police across the country, particularly from a prevention perspective.
The company owner, Herald cartoonist Peter Bromhead, said three unique chairs and an ottoman were taken. The chairs, the work of award-winning Finnish designer Yrjo Kukkapuro, were valued at $7000 each. Also stolen was a low table in white metal and chrome of Swiss design, the only piece of its kind known to exist, valued at $2000-plus.
Video footage shows one person creeping through the dark and carefully selecting items, walking past other valuable gear and computers.
