Daylight robbery with ‘knives and hammers’ left employee shaking
Working a day shift, Umesh Kahanal never expected to use his emergency training when he started at Caltex Dinsdale nine months ago.
But luckily he remembered the lessons when robbers rushed into the petrol station on Tuesday at 1.15pm.
“I heard sharp braking outside the shop and saw about four guys wearing masks running out of a car.
“I was really scared and I rushed into the safe room with my other colleague and triggered the alarm.”
The robbers were allegedly teenagers carrying weapons - knives and hammers.
Three hours after the ordeal, Kahanal was still shaking when he spoke to the Waikato Times.
His quick response kept himself and his colleague safe, but not the shop.
The robbers emptied the cigarette cabinet, broke the eftpos system, cash drawers, fog cannons and the door security system - which needed to be fixed by separate contractors.
Owner Amit Khanna, who arrived at the scene after his staff called, was busy organising contractors so the shop could return to serving customers.
Khanna said it was the fifth time the shop had been broken into in the last two months - the declining ramraid stats in Waikato isn’t something felt by his service station.
“I’m feeling embarrassed letting my insurance know that we’ve had another incident.”
But this was the first daytime robbery. During the after-school run, students were trying to visit the dairy on site and cars were trying to fuel up, but Khanna had to turn them away due to a broken cash register.
Khanna couldn’t understand how the nice neighbourhood could be so prone to robbery. “If we’re not safe here, where are we safe? We’re right in the middle of a lovely residential area.”
In a statement, Hamilton City Area commander inspector Andrea McBeth said all five youth offenders were arrested within one hour of the incident and stolen properties recovered.
“The suspects left the scene in a stolen car, which police were able to track thanks to several 111 calls about the car driving on the wrong side of the road and multiple near-collisions with other motorists.”
It was also said there were several customers, including a child, in the store when the incident happened.
“People deserve to be able to do their work or go about their day without being threatened, harmed or made to feel unsafe.”
Khanna said he wouldn’t leave the business even though it’s getting more stressful torunit.
“We have to. I’ve got my life’s earnings at stake, I can’t just walk away.”
During the last election, Khanna voted for the National Party, whose candidates promised to be tough on crime.
But he is now disappointed and felt the “Government has made false promises”.
On those promises, the most recent policy focus on youth crime included Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s nine public service targets that aim to reduce youth crime by 15%, with the second quarter of the year aiming to take decisions on establishing a Youth Serious Offender Category and making Youth Military Academies a standalone sentencing option for the Youth Court.