Five arrested after armed robbery on group in Mt Wellington

Five young men have been arrested after they allegedly threatened a group of people and forced them to the ground as they stood on, armed with guns.

Police said the offenders - aged between 18 and 21 - had been driving around the Stonefields area, in Auckland's Mt Wellington, in a red Mazda hatchback on Tuesday evening.

Shortly before 9.30pm, they approached five people who were parked in at least two vehicles in Barbarich Drive, in Stonefields.

The offenders are said to have got out of their vehicle and presented a number of firearms. No shots were fired, but two people from the second group were assaulted.

"The offenders forced all five victims out of the cars and ordered them to lie on the ground,'' a police statement said.

"They then stole various items of property from the victims before fleeing in the red hatchback.''

Police said they did not believe it was a random incident.

After a number of searches at various residential properties in Auckland, police found all five offenders yesterday. One of the group was discovered at a property in Pt England about 4.30pm yesterday.

Authorities also found stolen property and more firearms.

Detective senior sergeant Glenn Baldwin, of Auckland Police, said: "Co-ordinated and clever policing meant we were able to arrest all offenders the day after it happened - that's an excellent result."

All five men will appear in the Auckland District Court today, charged with aggravated robbery.