Knife held to neck during robbery

A Hamilton vape store worker caught up in a terrifying armed robbery was made to kneel on the ground “and a knife put to his neck”.

The Hamilton store’s owner Sidhu Naresh says his shop has been targeted multiple times. He does not believe a newly announced fog cannon rollout will stop the crime spree and says the Government needs to focus on consequences for violent and repeat offenders.

Naresh told Newstalk ZB’s Heather Du Plessis-Allan last night that his store was targeted on Friday in an armed attack by four young offenders.

“My staff was made to kneel and a knife was put to his neck,” Naresh said.

“They came and smashed everything, every single one of the cabinets, and they walked away with the till.”

Naresh said a courier who tried to stop the offenders was injured during the raid, and at least $4000 in cash was stolen.

His staff told him the robbers “couldn’t have been more than 16 years old”.

Even more shocking, the police told Naresh they believe the offenders to be the same people involved in another attack on his business just a few weeks prior.

Yesterday, the Government announced new measures to combat retail crime — including a fog cannon subsidy scheme open to all small shops and dairies in New Zealand, even if they had not been previously victimised.

Funding of $4000 will be available for each shop. The fog cannons will be installed through an approved supplier, meaning shops can access them directly.

The announcement came after the alleged murder of Sandringham shopkeeper Janak Patel last Wednesday following an apparent robbery.

Naresh said he doubts the fog cannons will do anything to prevent offenders from targeting his store.

“Every time something like this happens the Government comes in and starts giving you this funding and that funding,” Naresh said.

“But when are they going to talk about the consequences these guys are going through?”

Du Plessis-Allan asked Police Minister Chris Hipkins why “it took someone to die” before the subsidy was announced.

“This is something we have been working on for a while now and we have been working in association with other community leaders,” Hipkins said.