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Home / New Zealand

CCTV footage shows thieves robbing Auckland cafe

NZME.
24 Jun, 2015 12:47 AM4 mins to read

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CCTV footage shows three young men stealing alcohol from the cafe. Photo / Supplied

CCTV footage shows three young men stealing alcohol from the cafe. Photo / Supplied

Thieves struggling to haul a keg out of an Auckland cafe have been caught on tape - and are being slammed by the eatery's regulars on social media.

The CCTV footage of three young men stealing alcohol from Blockhouse Bay institution The Block Cafe has had more than 24,000 views on its Facebook page.

It has been shared more than 540 times and received 185 likes so far.

The video shows three thieves skipping and jogging through the cafe about 1am on Friday morning, nabbing a keg of beer, bottles of wine and a dishwasher tray full of spirits.

One of the thieves attempted to pick up another keg but dropped it after about three steps because of the weight. He then returned to the shelves and grabbed a handful of wine bottles before running out.

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Cafe owner Grant Hodges said the team were trying not to get too emotional about the theft.

It was not the first time the cafe had been hit with crime - a couple of months after its opening in 2013 an arsonist set fire to the building while a staff member was inside.

The damage cost Mr Hodges about $1500 because a judge ruled the arsonist could not pay reparations.

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Last week's damage might add up to $2500, he said.

Cafe staff had a bit of a laugh posting the video of the "three bright sparks" including the "lightweight" who couldn't carry the keg.

"Obviously it's the annoyance factor, more than anything. You try not to get emotional about things.

"We thought we might just do a spoof on it and take the piss out of them...We're on a mission to find these people, that's why we posted [the video] to make them pay basically."

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The stolen dishwasher tray had the machine's plug in it as well which was the most annoying item to have been stolen, he said.

Mr Hodges said he had another video of the trio arriving at the premises, which would be posted on the cafe's Facebook page as well.

"People seem to have this carefree attitude towards committing a crime, especially in West Auckland for some reason," he said.

"We've had really good community support here."

A comment from the cafe saying "Special shout-out to the guy who couldn't lift a 50 litre keg. I thought you were tough?" has received 50 likes from customers.

Facebook user Leonn Lockhart said the thieves did not seem very switched on.

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"Not strong enough to carry a keg, not smart enough to hide their faces from the camera. These boys are gonna have a hard time inside once caught."

Donna Schofield agreed: "I'm surprised nobody noticed them. 3 baffoons carrying so much beer they can hardly walk. Greedy and stupid."

Tony Meredith commented the cafe's locals would have something to say once the thieves were caught.

"When you catch them, put them in stocks out the front, the regulars will deal with them," he commented.

A West Auckland police spokesman said police were looking into the incident with a forensic team awaiting fingerprint results.

There had been a ram raid at a Green Bay liquor store just 2km down the road last week as well, he said.

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A police spokeswoman said the Green Bay liquor store ram raid was also under investigation.

The car used in the incident was recovered on Friday morning at a park in New Lynn and seized by police for forensic examination.

Police arrested two boys, aged 13 and 14, in connection with a series of other incidents in the area over the weekend.

Avondale Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Fabish said police were not sure whether the boys were involved in the Block Cafe incident.

Two other youths have been referred to Youth Aid, he said.

"We have yet to determine whether any of the four are responsible for the cafe burglary but anticipate forensic results will assist the investigation," Mr Fabish said.

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Enquiries were ongoing and anyone with information was asked to contact the Henderson Police on 09 839 0600.

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