The pair of bungling would-be burglars fled empty-handed after an early morning smash-and-grab on Saturday.
Police said two men smashed their way through the main door of the Four Square Foodlands Supermarket in Kaikorai Valley Rd.
The pair tried to break open a cigarette cabinet, but the alarm went off and they fled to a nearby vehicle, Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen, of Dunedin, said. They drove north on Kaikorai Valley Rd and remain at large.
Four Square Foodlands owner Kevin Shen said it seemed the pair knew the supermarket's layout.
"They seemed to be quite familiar with what they were doing.''
The burglary comes after thousands of dollars worth of tobacco products was stolen last week, in smash-and-grabs at the BP service station in Mornington on Tuesday and the Port Chalmers Four Square on Thursday.
A man was arrested last week after the Brockville Supermarket was burgled, but police did not believe that incident was related to the others.
Snr Sgt Dinnissen said police believed the three other burglaries were linked.
