Alleged cellphone thief returns to Auckland cafe, asks for PIN

An alleged thief who stole a cellphone from a West Auckland business returned later to ask staff for the PIN to unlock it – or give her $50 to return what she had taken.

Daily Tea, a bubble tea outlet in Henderson, is telling the woman to keep her ill-gotten gains and stay away after she returned again and left staff feeling unsafe.

The initial theft and the later extortion attempts were captured on camera and Daily Tea earlier shared the videos online, prompting members of the community to identify the alleged offender.

The light-fingered visitor first came in on October 21, leaning over the counter and taking a cellphone the store used to take orders.

”Hope this small laggy company phone that is worth less than your handbag can help you strive further in life,” Daily Tea told the woman online after the theft, accompanying their stinging rebuke with a CCTV image of the woman reaching to take the phone.

The alleged phone thief came back to the bubble tea outlet twice. Photo / Daily Tea

Surprisingly, she came back two days later to ask for money for the phone, telling staff a friend had given her the device.

Daily Tea also shared details of this encounter with its followers. ”Our staff is like: ‘What money?’,” they wrote. ”She wanted $50. We said no. She said $20. We said no.

“Then she is like: ‘At least give me the passcode’.”

When staff told her she could keep the phone, Daily Tea said she looked confused and left the store.

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But she was not finished with her nefarious enterprise, returning a day later with a similar approach. This time a staff member agreed to hand over $50 if she returned the phone. She left the store and did not return until four days later, standing outside and eyeballing staff.

A police spokesperson confirmed inquiries were made into a report of theft received on October 24 from a commercial address in Henderson but “available lines of inquiry were limited”.

“We encourage the owners of the business to report any further incidents of theft, threats, or intimidation to police, so we can investigate and take appropriate action,” they added.

Daily Tea’s Cindy Yap told the Herald the woman’s repeated attempts were “unacceptable” and “unbelievable” and had a message for the alleged thief: ”Just don’t come back, seriously. I don’t want the phone anymore, you keep the phone. Don’t come back, don’t harass my staff. I just want to be safe.”

Chris Marriner is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2003 and previously worked in the Herald’s visual team.

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