A spate of aggravated robberies, burglaries, and assaults occurred during the Christmas and New Year holiday period in different parts of New Zealand. At least 10 robberies and assaults and five burglaries were reported in Auckland, Hamilton, Whangarei, Wellington, Christchurch, Upper Hutt, Nelson, Waikato, and Hastings.
NZ Police, through different media, warned residents and retail shop owners to be alert and report any suspicious activities in their area. By default, the street corner dairy stores were the easiest targets for the offenders where they assaulted them with weapons for cash and cigarettes.
Devyish Superette, Kilbirnie Chased with a broomstick
On Friday, January 6, a man entered Devyish Superette in Kilbirnie, Wellington with a handgun demanding money from the counter. The offender described as a thin Caucasian man in his mid-20s, approximately 1.70 metres tall, and carrying a bag, wore a hi-vis orange jacket, carried a gun and fired a bullet into the ceiling of the store while demanding the money.
“He rushed in the store shouting ‘money, money, money’ before firing the gun at the roof,” owner of the store Bharati Gandhi said.
The incident occurred at around 1:20 p.m. when Ms Bharati, 52, was talking to her 17-year-old daughter behind the counter. The offender jumped onto the counter and pulled as much cash as he could and started running when Ms Bharati grabbed a broomstick and whacked the offender on his head.
“The moment I got the opportunity, I picked the long broomstick from the corner and hit him on the head, and he almost fell on the ground but managed to escape,” she said.
CCTV footage showed that the man had earlier popped in the store examining the place and pretending to be a customer, went out only to return later prepared to rob.
The man snatched $100 from the counter and managed to escape even after being hit by the broomstick.
Ms Bharati has owned the dairy for 22 years, lives with her husband and three children in Kilbirnie and this was the first time she experienced such an incident.
“My daughter and I are beyond terrified, although we bravely chased off the offender,” she said.
Ms Bharati and her daughter were unhurt, and no other damages were done to the store.
The police took Ms Bharati and her daughter away in the car for support and assistance while some police officers guarded the dairy store for much of the afternoon. Ms Bharati’s son stayed with her in the store on Saturday, January 8, when it reopened for business.
The police is investigating the incident, and the offender is still at large.
Duke Street Dairy, Hastings: Offender wields axe to threaten store owner
A man has attacked a dairy store owner after an argument over a loaf of bread in Hastings.
Paramjit Singh, the dairy owner suffered from a bruised forehead and eyes after being repeatedly hit several by a shop raider at Duke Street Bakery on Wednesday, January 4 around 5 p.m.
According to Mr Singh, the offender’s 14-year-old son took a loaf of bread from the store and returned a few minutes later with the crushed packet. Mr Singh protested that the bread he gave earlier was fresh and perfectly fine and he cannot replace it with another packet. The boy threatened to get his father to sort the issue.
“‘Do you know who I am?’ the boy angrily said [as he] stormed out of the store,” Mr Singh said.
The boy’s father turned up at the store a little later, grabbed several bread packets from the back of the store and was going out when Mr Singh protested. The man fiercely punched Mr Singh on his forehead in front of his wife and children present in the store.
Mr Singh received grievous bruises on his face and both of his eyes.
“He had a handful of bread packets, and as soon as I tried to stop him, he threw punches on me,” Mr Singh said.
The man and his family were customers of the store and Mr Singh had often helped them with bread and milk on credit and during difficult times had offered it for free.
“He lives a few houses from here, and he and his family members would often come to the store saying we will pay you later or take my car and give me the bread and milk and he would ask for cigarettes at times,” Mr Singh said.
Mr Singh’s family members tried to stop him from hitting him and chased him out of the store with a stick. However, the dispute was not over. A few minutes later, the offender’s 26-year-old partner came to the store wielding an axe from the door, threatening to hurt him further.
The female was arrested later in the evening and appeared in Hastings District Court on Monday, January 9. According to reports, she pleaded guilty of the crime and has been given a restraining order, to stay at least 100 metres away from Mr Singh’s family and the dairy store.
Bader Street Mini Mart, Hamilton: Brazen daylight axe-wielding in a dairy shop
Two offenders armed with an axe and a crowbar entered the Bader Street Mini Mart in Hamilton on Thursday, December 29, 2016, just after 7 p.m. and robbed the store of cash and cigarettes.
Kultar Singh, 21, was at the store counter and confronted the robbers who threatened to harm him with the axe. The robbers climbed on the till and took main cash counter and the Lotto counter and also took away packets of cigarettes from the rack behind the counter.
The owner of the dairy Jaspreet Singh was away with his family to a nearby garden when the incident happened.
“They knew our shop properly, as one of them ran to the store room and disconnected the cables of the CCTV camera. He also destroyed the camera so that he cannot be identified,” Jaspreet Singh said.
“He demanded the keys of the safe in the store room. I said I am not the owner, I don’t have it,” attendant Kultar Singh said.
Jaspreet Singh’s brother, Tarageet Singh who owns the liquor store next door alarmed by a customer came running into the store with a hockey stick. He too was chased off by the offending wielding axe on him.
A customer, on realising the circumstances, blocked the offender’s car in the angular parking. The offenders, however, crashed his car while reversing, climbed the footpath, rammed into a store next door, and council dustbin on the footpath corner and managed to escape the scene.
A few other bystanders alarmed the stores nearby that house near 15 different convenient stores and another customer of the store chased the offenders until they disappeared from the road.
The car was later found abandoned in a driveway near Montgomery Crescent, and the police is investigating the incident.
The 21-year-old store attendant is petrified and is receiving support from the community.
The offenders are still at large and yet to be arrested.
Twin Waikato robberies on same day, police suspect both are related
Two men armed with a kitchen knife robbed Rototuna Food Mart, off Hukanui Road in Hamilton at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, January 2, 2017. Nimish Patel, 21, was at the counter with his friend when the incident happened.
The offenders were reported to be of Pacific-island descent and managed to take away cash and expensive cigarettes at knife point.
Both offenders were wearing hoodies and sunglasses and threatened to stab the attendant if protested. The offenders took 40 packets of cigarettes, and electronic and vapour cigarettes as well.
Mr Patel, who has been living in New Zealand for two years, started working at the store two months back. His friend Manan Chachra often visits the store to help him in the afternoon. Both Mr Patel and his friend are in shock after the incident.
The offenders came in a White Toyota Coroner and sped away after taking the money.
The store was earlier robbed in August 2015, and owner Rupan Patel had then wrestled with the offender who was armed with a gun.
Another robbery occurred at Mill Pricecutter Dairy in Ngaruawahia (Waikato) at 11:15 a.m. earlier on the same day (Monday, January 2) and the police are investigating if both the incidents are related.
This dairy also became the target for the second time in 14 months and offenders got away with cash and cigarettes from the elderly couple present at the store. The police is investigating the incident, and no one has been arrested yet.
Manaia Dairy in Tokoroa
Police is looking for a medium built woman who robbed Manaia dairy in Tokoroa, Waikato on Tuesday, December 27 at around 5 p.m.
The offender brandished a knife at the counter and took some items from the counter. She was chased by the store attendant before she escaped from the locality.
The woman wore a dark blue Adidas hoodie with gold stripes down the sleeves, and black tights and is absconding.
When Indian Weekender tried contacting store owners, they declined to reveal the names of store attendants or other details related to the incident.
Mobil Petrol Station, Nelson:
A man armed with a knife entered Mobil Petrol Station in Tahunanui in Nelson on Tuesday, January 3, around 3 a.m. demanding cash and cigarettes from the attendant.
The attendant, as trained, activated the panic alarm that filled the store with fog smoke and the offender was unable to steal anything.
Shortly, the offender left the store and was last seen walking around Tahunanui Drive.
The petrol station attendant was unhurt, and there was no loss of property as well. The offender is still absconding.
Night & Day Dairy, Nelson
A man armed with a machete-style knife entered Night ‘n Day dairy store in Stoke, Nelson on Sunday, December 25, at 10.25 p.m. and robbed cash and cigarettes from the counter.
The female attendant at the store was threatened with the knife but was left unhurt. The man was arrested four days later, and he appeared in Nelson District Court.