Police close in on robbers

CCTV footage shows face of gun-wielding man who terrorised superette customers

Police are closing in on two men who robbed a Northland superette at gunpoint while four children inside cowered in fear. The men entered Waipapa Superette and Lotto about 4.30pm on Saturday armed with a rifle or air gun and a hammer.

Police say one man “waved his rifle up and down the aisle” while the other emptied the Lotto till, jumped the counter and emptied the cigarette cabinet.

They also stole SPCA and Kidney Kids charity boxes.

The men took off in a stolen car and fled north on State Highway 10. The car was found abandoned on Puketi Rd, Okaihau, yesterday with the offenders’ clothing inside.

They had their faces covered but a bandanna worn by the man holding the rifle slipped, and CCTV cameras caught his face.

The real breakthrough came yesterday when police trawling through CCTV footage in Whanga¯rei found the car had called in to the Z service station in Kamo on Friday night and Z Porowini before the robbery.

One of the drivers was wearing clothing identical to that of the riflewielding robber.

Detective Sergeant Chris Fouhy, of Mid North police, urged anyone who recognised the men, or who had seen the car in Whanga¯rei, to call the Kaikohe station on (09) 405 2960 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

“It’s another example of dairies being targeted for cash and cigarettes. It’s just not good enough for hardworking members of the public to be terrorised like this. The shopkeepers weren’t the only victims, there were customers in the shop at the time, including children.”

The two young children and two teens in the shop were “really shaken up”, as was a man at the Lotto counter.

The manager of Waipapa Superette, Pushpa, did not want to comment. She did, however, want to thank her customers for their support and police for their efforts.

The Nissan Primera used in the robbery was stolen from a locked garage in Okaihau early on Thursday.

The thieves switched the number plates and replaced the Nissan badge with a Mazda logo.

Photos / Supplied Children can be seen in the store while the offender points a gun down the aisle of the Waipapa Superette during the Saturday afternoon robbery.

Police want to speak to the man in this photo in relation to an aggrevated roberry in Waipapa on Saturday.