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Three Dutch tourists who told police they were robbed at gunpoint on Banks Peninsula have been charged with making false statements.
The three men had said they were sleeping in their hired campervan near Akaroa in the early hours of February 10 when a bottle was thrown through their windscreen.
They said a man had then reached into the van and pointed a pistol at the them, ordering them out of the vehicle, before he and two companions searched the van taking cash, laptop computers and digital cameras.
Detective Sergeant Ross Tarawhiti said today the three had been charged with making a false statement and would appear in Christchurch District Court tomorrow.
The arrests were the result of a joint police and customs operation, he said.
Police were not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.
- NZPA
