A Wanaka business and a house owned by the same people have been targeted by burglars in what police say was a deliberate attempt - probably by someone known to the owners - to cause "serious and costly damage".
Police were called to a break-in at the Ardmore St gift shop, Alice, on Tuesday and later discovered the business owners' home in Wanaka had also been broken in to, after a relative who managed the shop checked on the house.
Detective Alan Lee, of Wanaka, said the two incidents were "not your stereotypical burglary where someone's gone in to steal something".
"The properties appear to be deliberately targeted with the intention of causing serious and costly damage."
The properties had been thoroughly "ransacked", he said.
Significant damage had been caused at the shop, including overturned furnishings and shop fittings.
He declined to comment on the nature of the damage to stock or how entry had been gained to the shop and house.
At the house, furniture had also been overturned, rubbish tipped out and drawers and cupboards opened and emptied of personal items.
The damage bill was not known at this stage, but it was possibly in the thousands of dollars.
Police were "keeping an open mind", but they suspected the culprit was "someone known to the couple", Det Lee said.
The owners were overseas on holiday and "without actually being able to be face-to-face with them, we can't really get any names".
Nobody was inside either the business or house at the time of the burglaries, which appeared to have occurred on Monday night.
"There will be people in the Wanaka community who know something about this and we'd like to hear from anyone who has information," Det Lee said.
People could call Wanaka police on (03) 443 7272, or provide anonymous information via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
