Tauranga dairy owner worried after ram raid

Viking Dairy in Otūmoetai has been boarded up after a ram raid. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

A Tauranga dairy owner is feeling panicked as his sales plummet after a ram raid.

Police called Varinder Singh on July 1 at 1.30am to say that his store had been ram-raided. He rushed to the Otūmoetai shop, where two police officers were waiting.

Burglars had tried to get into the store on Otūmoetai Rd using a hammer before they used a vehicle and left skid marks along the grass in front of the shop.

The ram raiders left skid marks on the grass during the attack on the Viking Dairy in Otūmoetai. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

Singh said the burglars broke into a locked cabinet and stole cigarettes and vapes. Other items, including deodorant and packets of chips, were also taken.

“They didn’t go for the money.”

A drinks fridge was damaged. The raid was captured on security camera, and Singh showed police the footage.

“I showed them the video, then I put the drinks back into the fridge.

“I couldn’t close the door. I just had to leave it open because I had to go to work at six in the morning at the BP.”

Singh and his wife have owned the store for a year, and he did not think something like this would happen in what he thought was a safe area.

People in the community had shared their concerns since the raid. Some elderly people told him they felt scared, and he said he was losing business as customers assumed the store was closed.

Sales had dropped significantly.

“It’s a very small business. We are hardly surviving ... winter is a bit slow for retail.”

Singh and his wife were feeling panicked about the drop in customers and feared they would have to close for a long time while the store was repaired.

“We need to rebuild the front area, so we might need to be closed for a while.”

The front of the store will require rebuilding, and in the meantime, it is boarded up. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

Singh said police had advised him to install bollards. However, he could not do so until the store’s front was rebuilt.

He has contacted his landlord to sort out insurance and a plan for the repairs.

“They also might need to check the warrant of fitness of the building. There’s a crack up on the building, on the wall, and connected to the roof.”

Some of the damage, as seen hours after the raid. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

Singh will have to pay the insurance policy excess and is waiting to hear what the costs will be.

This is not the first time burglars have hit the store. He was told a previous attack happened in 2015 or 2016.

“Normally, it’s a very safe area,” he said.

Police said two youths were to appear in the Youth Court at a later date.