Cabinet of cigarettes target of late-night ram-raid using stolen car at Takapau Four Square

Thieves ram-raided the Takapau Four Square with a stolen vehicle to access the shop before stealing a cabinet of cigarettes. Photo/Clinton Llewellyn

The Takapau Four Square was closed yesterday morning as the owners and staff cleaned up broken glass and debris after the premises was ram-raided overnight.

A staff member said it had been an eventful night in the tiny rural settlement, 20km west of Waipukurau in Central Hawke's Bay.

She said the alarm was raised about 11.25pm on Monday that a vehicle had crashed through the window, and a cabinet of cigarettes had been stolen.

Staff remained at the store with a couple of other community members until about 3am and the road was blocked off for a short time as police tracked down the offenders, who had also broken into the Takapau Tennis Club, she said.

The police managed to recover the stolen items.
"They did not get away with anything," she said.

Senior Sergeant Mike Stevenson said a group of five people had reversed a stolen Toyota Hilux into the store at high speed, gained entry and stole a cabinet containing a large quantity of tobacco products then fled the scene in the vehicle.

Just before this, about 11pm, police received a report that the Takapau Tennis Club had also been ram-raided, he said.

"A person near the club had observed a vehicle leaving the scene, this vehicle matched the description of the Toyota Hilux used in the Four Square ram-raid."
The police caught up with a vehicle on State Highway 2 and tried to pull it over but the driver failed to stop.

Mr Stevenson said the police pursued the vehicle on to the Takapau Golf Course where it rolled down a bank, and all five occupants ran from the scene.

With the assistance of the police dog unit one person was found and arrested but the other four had stolen a second vehicle nearby and left the scene, police said.

Police were yesterday morning working on finding four people and the second stolen vehicle.

A 16-year-old was charged with unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle and burglary, and was due to appear in Hastings District Court yesterday.

Takapau Tennis Club committee member Kate Taylor said nothing was stolen from the club and the alarm went off when it was broken into.

"I went with the police to check on the squash and rugby clubrooms but only the tennis club was targeted."
Cigarettes were the target of another burglary in Central Hawke's Bay at the Waipukurau New World on Friday, April 7.

Two thieves made off with cigarettes after they broke into the store through a fire exit door about 2.30am. Security staff arrived within minutes but not before the men made off with an unknown quantity of cigarettes after exiting the same way.

Not isolated to Central Hawke's Bay, cigarettes were at the centre of an aggravated robbery at the Onekawa shops on Mardi Rd on March 30, where cash was also taken.
Earlier in March, cash and cigarettes were taken from Dannevirke Caltex after the offenders pointed a pistol at staff.