Police have arrested two young men, aged 14 and 18, who they believe were involved in an armed burglary of a Far North bottle shop on Sunday.
Two males entered the Okaihau Liquor Store on State Highway 1 about 3pm on Sunday.
One was armed with a long knife, the other with a fence paling with a protruding nail. Both had their faces covered in an attempt at disguise.
Detective Bill Dawson, of Mid North police, said the shop was open for business but fortunately the family owners were in the flat out the back.
They saw the pair enter on the store's CCTV cameras so they stayed where they were and called the police. The offenders smashed open the till and took an unknown sum of money.
A bystander recognised one of the offenders as he was running away and informed police.
Mr Dawson said the 18-year-old was arrested later that day in Okaihau and some of the money was recovered.
A police dog was used in an unsuccessful bid to track his accomplice.
However, police arrested a second suspect with the 14-year-old located in a small settlement near Okaihau on Monday.
Both have been charged with aggravated burglary and wilful damage. They appeared in court in Kaikohe yesterday, the 18-year-old in the District Court and the 14-year-old in Youth Court. Aggravated burglary carries a maximum penalty of 14 years' jail.
Police have CCTV footage of the burglary and had earlier called for sightings of a white SUV seen in the area at the time.
However, Senior Sergeant Brian Swann, of Mid North police, said it turned out that the driver of the vehicle was not involved in the crime but had been following the suspects.
The driver's information had helped the investigation, he said.
Okaihau Liquor Store used to be the off-licence of the Okaihau Hotel which was burnt down in an arson attack in 2008.
The half of the building containing the bottle store and flat was saved.