Two teenagers face charges after a group allegedly armed with a knife and a crowbar raided a Whangārei dairy yesterday before members of the public stopped them getting away in a stolen car.
Police said three offenders pulled up outside the Crawford Cres store in the suburb of Te Kamo at about 10.40am yesterday in a Nissan station wagon.
The car had allegedly been stolen from the same street in the early hours of that morning.
Inspector Maria Nordstrom said the group allegedly entered the store carrying a knife and a crowbar.
"The males jumped across the counter and broke into a cigarette locker," she said.
"A worker was able to leave the store and was understandably shaken, but thankfully uninjured."
The group spent about a minute inside before leaving with the cigarettes and trying to get back into the stolen car.
Members of the public stepped in, and the trio ran off on foot instead, dropping a bag of cigarettes as they went.
A police dog unit tracked the group to a residential garage a short distance away, which police allege they had broken into. Officers took two of the suspects into custody and recovered some of the stolen property.
Nordstrom thanked those who stepped in.
"Police thank the brave members of the public who attempted to stop this group.
"It is clear that, like police, our community has no tolerance for offending that targets local retailers and compromises their safety."
Two males, aged 17 and 18, were due to appear in the Whangārei Youth Court today on charges of aggravated burglary, unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle and unlawfully being in an enclosed yard or area.
Police said they were following positive lines of enquiry to find the third offender.
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