A fridge being emptied out in a locked flat is the latest in a string of "very strange" night-time burglaries in Westport over the past fortnight.
All have been at the same address, a block of flats in Queen Street.
Police said this morning they putting more staff on the case to track down the burglar.
In the latest burglary, an intruder broke into a locked flat and raided the fridge, including milk and cream.
Senior sergeant Mark Rowbottom, of Greymouth police, said the string of incidents at the same location were getting stranger.
"We had another one last night. The whole thing is very, very strange. Someone is getting in. We don't know where and how they've got in, but they've taken food from the fridge,"
Mr Rowbottom said.
"The thing is that the occupants are saying 'we've locked our house' and there's no forced entry."
The first incident was reported a fortnight ago after a resident discovered their phone missing from the kitchen table and then found a biscuit tin had been raided.
Over the next week another resident discovered a half-eaten meal to the rear of their property.
Then last week the mystery intruder got into the rear of one residence and deposited a half used bottle of maple syrup in the doorway and a surgical glove on the lawn.
All the incidents had occurred at the same location, Mr Rowbottom said.
Whether it was a former tenant with a key or someone else altogether, the police could not yet say.
Meanwhile, police are investigating another lockdown burglary in Westport linked to a commercial premises in Wakefield Street.
A white van was stolen overnight but was located by police a short while later, stuck in sand near the northern tiphead at the Buller River mouth.
Police had a strong line of inquiry around that incident, Mr Rowbottom said.
- Brendon McMahon
