Petrol station breakin pair steal 10 trays of cigarettes

MAHENO

TWO men looking to satisfy their nicotine fix robbed a Maheno petrol station last week.

Last Thursday at 3.20 am, the offenders stole 10 trays of cigarettes from the Gull service station in Main Rd.

The pair then took off in a silver Mazda station wagon with stolen vehicle registration plates.

Oamaru Constable Dean Paterson said one offender appeared to be Caucasian, and the other was of Maori or Pacific

Island descent.

‘‘They’ve broken the door to get into the room, and they’ve broken the wall to get into the next room, and broken a cabinet and stolen 10 trays of cigarettes,’’ Const Paterson said.

A week earlier, police were called to the same service station when there was an attempted breakin.

‘‘They got nothing that time — they tried to get the cigarettes out but they didn’t.’’

Police believed the two incidents were related.