Auckland crime: Masked group targets Michael Hill Jewellers in Mānawa Bay mall smash-and-grab

• A Michael Hill Jewellers at Mānawa Bay Shopping Centre was targeted in a smash-and-grab robbery.
• The group were filmed using tools to smash into the glass cabinets.
• Police were called after masked offenders took items and fled; no injuries were reported.

A Michael Hill Jewellers at the upscale Mānawa Bay Shopping Centre near Auckland Airport has been hit in a brazen smash-and-grab.

A video taken inside the mall last night during the robbery showed a group wearing masks and hoodies and wielding tools while smashing their way into the glass cabinets.

A man holding a child dashed for safety before the robbers ran out with armfuls of loot and fled towards the exit.

Michael Hill Jewellers in Auckland's Mānawa Bay shopping mall was hit during a brazen robbery.

Other videos taken in the aftermath showed the building filled with white fog with smashed jewellery cabinets and cases strewn across the floor.

It also showed bewildered and frightened customers walking through the mall and examining a jewellery box dropped by the robbers.

One person said the robbery happened five minutes before the mall closed.

“It was really scary,” he said.

Police said officers were called to a Jimmy Ward Cres address about 7pm last night after reports of a group entering the store and taking items.

“There were no injuries and the group then left in a vehicle.

“Area inquiries were conducted, however, the alleged offenders were not immediately located, and inquiries are ongoing.”

Fog cannon smoke filled the Mānawa Bay shopping following a smash grab and the Michael Hill jewellers.

Auckland Aiport said it would be bolstering security measures in the wake of the incident.

“The safety and security of everyone at Mānawa Bay is our priority and we are taking this incident very seriously.”

The Herald has approached Michael Hill Jewellers for comment.

The shopping mall opening in September last year caused large congestion on the roads, flights to be delayed from the nearby airport, and passengers being moved to later flights.

The Herald has previously reported on the mall’s advanced crime-deterrent features – including thick concrete walls and metal bollards.

This robbery comes less than a week after a New Lynn jewellery store was targeted in a violent smash-and-grab.

Customers hid while four masked men stormed Kaysons last Sunday, threatening staff and smashing glass cabinets holding valuable gold jewellery. They also injured the store’s owner and threatened to kill him.

Kaysons gold jewellery is priced between $100 and almost $15,000 on its website.

Citizens' arrest powers to be expanded

The latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey showed there had been a 12% increase in “theft and related offences” at retail premises between 2023 and 2024.

In response, the Government has revealed retailers and the public will have more power to detain shoplifters under new citizens' arrest laws, with new legislation to be introduced in the next few months.

Making the announcement, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee detailed how current legislation didn’t protect retailers or security guards from liability if they tried to detain an offender if the stolen goods were worth less than $1000 and occurred during the day.

Their proposed changes would mean any person could intervene and detain an offender at any time of the day and over goods of any value.

“The economic cost of retail crime in New Zealand is in the billions and retailers and security guards face abuse and assault that no New Zealander should be subjected to,” Goldsmith said.

“This Government will ensure that people working in the retail sector are being effectively protected, are empowered to stop offending and that offenders are caught and deterred from future offending.”

But the announcement was slammed by Labour, which warns it leaves retailers on their own to deal with crime.

“Turning New Zealand into the wild west is not a crime prevention strategy, it’s dangerous and goes against our values as New Zealanders,” Labour justice spokesman Duncan Webb said.

“A broad right of citizens to use force against each other is likely to lead to harm. The enforcement of the criminal law is the job of the police who are properly trained and the suggestion that it is appropriate for citizens to do this in any but the most narrow circumstances can lead to tragic consequences.”

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