Two robberies in one day for Bottle O liquor stores' owner

Two liquor stores in Rotorua owned by the same chain have been robbed within hours on the same day, but security camera footage is helping police catch those responsible.

The Bottle O stores in Ngongotaha and on Fairy Springs Rd were hit by thieves on Saturday and on both occasions security camera footage caught those responsible in the act.

The stores' owner, who wanted to be known only as Dhillon, said he had received good information from members of the public, which had been passed on to police.

The Fairy Springs Rd Bottle O store was robbed by a man at 7pm on Saturday. He walked out of the store carrying alcohol, but was chased by the store worker who pulled him out of a waiting getaway car, the security footage shows.

They had a fight in the forecourt before the thief managed to get back into the car and escape, the footage shows.

Just over two hours later, three men went into the Ngongotaha Bottle O store at 9.24pm.

Dhillon said a man approached a staff member and backed him into the corner of the store, telling him he had a knife, while two other men ran boxes of alcohol out of the store.

Dhillon said he had a background in kickboxing and trained his staff in the basics of the sport to protect themselves, but he was clear with his staff not to put themselves at risk.

"I tell them, if someone comes to rob you, don't do anything because we have very good security cameras and they will be found."

Dhillon said he had spent thousands on his security system, which linked all six of his Bottle O stores, including one in Tauranga, Fenton St, Sunset Rd and Otonga Rd. He said this allowed all staff members to keep an eye on each other and call police if they needed.

Rotorua police crime prevention manager Inspector Brendon Keenan said no one had been charged yet but the police's tactical unit was looking into the security footage and acting on information received from the public.

He hoped some of the stores that had been frequently robbed in the past few years might be eligible for a government scheme, announced in last year's Budget, that would see stores fitted with a crime-prevention fog-cannon device.

At-risk stores nationwide were to be selected to have the devices fitted for a cost of $250, as opposed to having to pay $2000.