A brazen thief made off with valuable camera gear, a laptop computer and cash while the home owner was making tea upstairs in his Whangarei home.
But what the thief did not bank on was a sophisticated security system catching his every criminal move.
Now Raumanga homeowner Dave McCluggage is releasing a security camera picture in the hope the thief will be identified and he can get his precious and expensive camera gear back.
"I was in the process of backing up all my data and I thought I would just go upstairs and put tea on. When I got back all the gear was gone," Mr McCluggage said. It was about 6.30pm when the male went into the downstairs office and began his raid.
The thief also took $700 in cash from a small electronic safe, which Mr McCluggage had raised for his Whangarei South Rotary club from selling firewood.