Mornington store robbed again

Police are seeking this person after the Mornington Night 'n Day was robbed yesterday.  Photo...
Police are seeking this person after the Mornington Night 'n Day was robbed yesterday. Photo supplied.
Police at the scene of the Mornington Night 'n Day following an aggravated robbery yesterday. ...
Police at the scene of the Mornington Night 'n Day following an aggravated robbery yesterday. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.

The Mornington Night 'n Day dairy was targeted again yesterday, its fourth aggravated robbery in two years.

Police swooped on the Eglinton Rd outlet at 8am after reports a man brandishing a firearm had held up the store.

He fled the scene with a ''significant amount'' of tobacco and cigarettes, Detective Sergeant Rob Hanna, of the Dunedin CIB, said.

Witnesses told police the alleged offender might have been in the area for up to an hour before the hold-up. A public toilet across the road was cordoned off yesterday morning.

The man was described as a caucasian, aged possibly in his 20s, between 1.75m and 1.85m tall and of slim, athletic build.

He was wearing a distinctive hoodie, three-quarter pants and boots, and was carrying several shopping bags.

Police want to hear from anyone offered cigarettes or tobacco since the robbery.

The new owners were not in a position to comment yesterday.

Night 'n Day Foodstore chief executive Tony Allison said the female owner and a female shop assistant were in the store when it was robbed.

Both were shaken but unhurt from the incident, he said.

Former owner Qian Sun was robbed three times between buying the store in 2012 and selling it to the current owners last August. The person who robbed the store on those occasions was sentenced last year to seven years' imprisonment.

Mr Allison said it was unclear why the shop had been targeted so many times, but at that hour of the morning ''it was pretty brazen''.

The people in the shop followed the correct protocols and the security system was of high quality, with the photo of the offender widely distributed, he said.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Dunedin police on (03) 471-4800 or via the anonymous tipoff line Crimestoppers on 0800 555-111.

- hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz

 

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement