A masked man "chopped his way'' in to a Dunedin service station to steal more than $7000 of cigarettes and tobacco.
The Burnside Service Station assistant manager, who did not want to be named, said CCTV footage showed a "very tall'' man drove to the Main South Rd property about 2am on Wednesday, parked and locked his car, then
smashed a hole in the glass door of the premises.
"He chopped his way in using an axe.''
The hole was made with three swings of the axe, he said.
The man reached through the hole and unlocked the door.
Inside, the man "attacked'' the lock on the tobacco cabinet but failed to gain entry.
"So he attacks the roller door [of the cabinet], which succeeds, and he proceeds to clear it out until he's interrupted,'' the assistant manager said.
A neighbour turning on an outside light "spooked'' the man.
The man then left the building with about $7000 of cigarettes and tobacco, unlocked his car and drove off.
"He was obviously worried about someone nicking from him, when he was nicking from us.''
The business owner could not be contacted yesterday, as he was on a flight to China.
