Broadcaster’s car used in ram raid on bottle store
Newsreader stunned to find vehicle gone
Newstalk ZB newsreader Niva Retimanu got a shock yesterday morning when she woke up to find her car had been stolen and used in a spectacular ram raid.
Retimanu was pottering around making breakfast in her pyjamas when a policewoman knocked on the door of her Mt Eden home at 9am.
“The police constable said ‘where’s your car?’
“I said ‘ it’s just out . . . oh my god it’s been stolen’ ... I was just shocked, I couldn’t believe it.
“Working in a newsroom, this is what we live and breathe, and we’re not immune to it.”
It was only then Retimanu found out her Nissan Tiida had been used to bust into the Liquorland shop on the corner of Dominion Rd and Prospect Tce for a brazen robbery.
A photo of the raid, captured by a passing Uber driver at 1.30am, shows massive destruction with shattered glass panes lying on the footpath and the store’s front doors and windows caved in. The security grille proved little match for the vehicle, which its driver abandoned in the shop.
Retimanu said this was not the first time she’d had a car broken into. “But this is the first time it’s been used in a crime. And that is a concern for me.
“Living in Auckland I’m aware that vehicles get stolen all the time. That’s just a fact of life. I think it is different though when it happens to you.
“My first thought was at least I’m alive, I’m safe and I’m okay. It wasn’t my life in danger. It’s only a car and it can be replaced.”
Police had towed the Nissan to their warehouse for forensic testing.
Meanwhile, Retimanu had to Uber to work.
A police spokeswoman said the raid happened about 1.25am. It was not known how much liquor was stolen.
A scene guard had been in place overnight and detectives began investigating the robbery yesterday.
HFor an interview with Niva go to nzherald.co.nz