Police have made two arrests in the past day over pricey thefts from Auckland¡¯s CBD.
One man was arrested following a burglary at a convenience store at 2.11am on Wellesley Street West.
The offender smashed a window to gain entry and took nearly $5000 worth of cigarettes from the store.
Police were soon hot on the man¡¯s heels, Senior Sergeant Dave Plunkett, Auckland City Central Response Manager, says.
¡°A good description of the offender was provided, and he was spotted on foot by Police Camera Operators.
¡°Police staff were soon able to locate the man and take him into custody. He was found with 106 packets of cigarettes in his possession.¡±
A 26-year-old man is scheduled to appear in the Auckland District Court today charged with burglary.
¡°This was great work from our staff to apprehend the man so quickly, and we¡¯d like to acknowledge the owner of the store for his swift actions in aiding the arrest,¡± Senior Sergeant Plunkett says.
¡°Police are continuing to hold offenders accountable for offending being committed at retailers in the city.¡±
Police in the city also made another arrest on Tuesday afternoon over an expensive bottle of whiskey.
¡°Our staff were attending an unrelated incident at a hotel with an offender who was being arrested over intentional damage.
¡°As they were dealing with the man, he was identified as a person of interest from an alleged shoplifting incident.¡±
In December last year, an expensive bottle of whiskey was stolen from a city liquor store.
¡°This bottle of whiskey was valued at almost $14,000 and we were very happy to have arrested the alleged thief,¡± Senior Sergeant Plunkett says.
A 41-year-old man is set to appear in the Auckland District Court today.
¡°He has been charged with shoplifting, intentional damage, possessing cannabis plant and possessing utensils for methamphetamine use.¡±
ENDS.
Tony Wright/51½ÖÉä