Shopkeeper injured in dairy scuffle

A dairy worker was injured in a scuffle with robbers in Onehunga yesterday afternoon.

This comes on the same afternoon the Crime Prevention group met with politicians in a call for action to curb the number of shop robberies.

Detective Sergeant Neil Hilton said two men entered the dairy armed with a screwdriver about 2pm.

They tried to take the cash register but were unsuccessful.

The shopkeeper sustained a minor injury in a scuffle with the offenders, he said.

Hilton said the offenders left the dairy in a car believed to have been driven by a third person.

It was found dumped nearby and is being examined for evidence.

A police spokeswoman said police were called to a robbery at a dairy on Trafalgar St in Onehunga at 2pm yesterday afternoon.

“Incidents like these are of serious concern to Police and we want to send a clear message that we will do all we can to hold the offenders accountable,” Hilton said.

About the same time a Tauranga dairy was robbed by two men armed with a hammer.

Senior Sergeant Steven Shaw said the Carlisle St Convenience store in Greerton was robbed about 2pm.

They threatened the staff member before fleeing on foot with an unknown amount of cash and cigarettes.

The Crime Prevention Group organiser Sunny Kaushal said yesterday’s Papatoetoe meeting was the first time members of all the major political parties had come together with community leaders to discuss the issue.

“We were able to take the issue to the next level,” Kaushal said. “We are not here to listen to election promises. We need concrete action on the ground.

“Hardly a day goes by without incident. Shopkeepers are being brutally attacked. We need to act quickly before it becomes an epidemic.’’

The meeting comes after 700 people joined the Crime Prevention group in a march down Great South Road, in Manukau last weekend, calling on authorities for better protection of shopkeepers and harsher penalties for offenders.