Two people are set to appear in the Auckland Youth Court after a robbery at Westfield St Lukes mall on Tuesday. They face charges of receivingstolen goods and shoplifting, police said.
A 19-year-old woman is also due to reappear in the Auckland District Court on January 28 on a charge of shoplifting.
Two other men involved in the heist who abandoned a Subaru vehicle and fled on foot after driving off from the mall are still on the run, police said.
It comes as new footage of the heist has emerged.
Dramatic new footage has emerged of thieves targeting the Michael Hill jewellery store in Westfield St Lukes mall.
In the video supplied to the Herald, a hooded man with a hammer can be seen jumping on and smashing a glass cabinet at Michael Hill before an alarm rings out and fog cannons activate in the store.
The attacker then runs off along with another man wearing a black hoodie and a black Nike backpack.
Someone can be heard asking, “Should I call the police?” in the background.
Earlier, police told the Herald they responded to reports on Tuesday of two men entering the jewellery store and smashing counters with tools before running off with jewellery.
“Those involved were then reportedly seen handing some stolen items to occupants of a Mazda vehicle before fleeing the area in a Subaru vehicle.”
Police reported a Subaru was found abandoned on Lyon Ave, with two men seen running from the vehicle toward St Lukes Rd.
Jewellery and trays were found in the Subaru, which was towed for examination.
Police stopped the Mazda on Mt Smart Rd after reports of the car being driven recklessly on Morningside Drive and St Lukes Rd.
“Three people were found in the vehicle and arrested, along with stolen clothing, and some pieces of stolen jewellery believed to be from the earlier robbery.”
Police said the trio in the Mazda were aged between 17 and 19.
Fog blanketed Westfield St Lukes mall in Auckland after a robbery which resulted in three people being arrested. Photo / Dev Dixit
An eyewitness told the Herald he saw a group stealing clothes from a Stirling Sports store to cover their faces. Then he saw people at Michael Hill smashing “as many [glass] cabinets as they could at once” before triggering the jewellery store’s fog cannons and running out with a small Michael Hill bag.
“I was in my store working and we could just hear the fog cannons go off and a big bang.
“As the fog was going on, everyone just stood around ... mine and [the Stirling worker’s] instincts were to just run after them, get the rego and do what we could.”
He ran after them with a Stirling Sports employee and two security guards out to the rooftop carpark.
Video sent to the Herald shows the eyewitness chasing a white vehicle from the carpark on to the road, where it swerved to avoid him before racing off.
Stores in the mall immediately locked up, with some taking in nearby customers who the witness described as “standing and staring”, with some elderly bystanders “freaking out”.
A photo of the incident shows a large cloud of smoke rising from the mall’s ground floor as nearby shoppers look on.
A large cloud of smoke rises from the ground floor of Westfield St Lukes after a fog cannon was set off during a raid on a jewellery store. Photo / Dev Dixit
The Herald has approached mall management for comment.
Michael Hill St Lukes declined to comment, as did Stirling Sports.
It comes after Michael Hill International (MHI) said serious crime was affecting several of its New Zealand stores in a May earnings update.
Ram raids have hit multiple MHI stores over the past several years, with repeated offending causing the closure of its Takapuna branch.
Last January, Michael Hill chief executive Daniel Bracken said “security and safeguarding measures remain integral” for the chain.
“We have continued to review our security measures to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect our team and customers.”
