Police are searching for separate groups of offenders who carried out a pair of violent street robberies in Wellington last night.
A man in his twenties was walking from the waterfront near Te Papa into Barnett Street at about 11:15pm when he was allegedly robbed by five men in the first attack, police said.
Acting Detective Sergeant Sam Mercer said the man was initially approached by a teenager who asked him for a cigarette.
The offender was then joined by four other men who surrounded the victim before one punched him to the ground, he said.
"In a cowardly attack, all five offenders then kicked and punched the victim while he was on the ground, robbing him of his puffer jacket, wallet, i-pod and passport."