Gone in 23 seconds: Ram-raiders hit wine shop
A family-owned Auckland business hard hit by a spate of ram raids has shared shocking footage of the latest attack on its oldest store.
Glengarry Wines has endured 42 raids on its stores across Auckland, the majority in the past 18 months.
Security footage from its Jervois Rd store in Herne Bay shows the 23 seconds it took for thieves to pillage and destroy stock.
In a post sharing the video online, Glengarry Wines said, “This is an unsustainable situation that is devastating so many businesses.
“New Zealand cannot endure it. Something has to change. Words won’t fix it.”
The footage shows a car backing into the shop front, shattering glass and damaging the doors.
Two thieves then pry open the door by hand, hiding their faces from the camera as they run into the store.
A third man waiting in a car outside joins them as the men haul bottles of wine into the boot of the car.
A different camera angle looking further into the shop shows a man attempting to grab a number of wine bottles in his arms.
He drops about nine bottles on the ground, as the thieves leave a trail of destruction.
The latest ram raid targeting the business happened about 2.30am last Wednesday, also at the Jervois Rd store.
One raid in September was a more sophisticated operation than other raids, involving a group of older men targeting rare and valuable vintages in the Jervois Rd store’s cellar.
It is a crime the store’s management and a wine expert believe had the hallmarks of a targeted heist-to-order.
Most burglaries include the typical ram raids committed by young offenders who are generally caught, such as the alleged ram raid of its Takapuna store in Hurstmere Rd in September.
Glengarry Wines general manager Liz Wheadon said the cost of each raid was “spiralling into the tens of thousands”.
While the upscale wine chain has insurance, the dozens of raids have still cost it a little over $256,000 in lost and damaged stock.
Police have yet to make an arrest in relation to the September burglary, where a window was jemmied open after the offenders cased the premises, or last Wednesday’s raid.