Golriz Ghahraman shoplifting allegations: Former MP reportedly seen putting items into tote bag at Pak’nSave

Golriz Ghahraman resigned from Parliament last year. Photo / NZME

A shoplifting complaint against former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman is understood to relate to an incident where she was allegedly seen placing items into a tote bag at an Auckland supermarket.

The Herald first reported on Wednesday that a police investigation was under way into a complaint of shoplifting, understood to have allegedly occurred at a Pak’nSave supermarket in Auckland’s Royal Oak in late 2024.

A source told the Herald when the former MP was in the Royal Oak supermarket her manner of shopping, in particular the way she was carrying items, aroused the suspicion of store security officers monitoring shoppers.

She was allegedly seen putting some grocery items in a tote bag and other items into a handbag.

The Herald understands that as she approached the checkout she was stopped by store security who asked her to empty out all the bags she was carrying.

When she took the grocery items out of her bags she purportedly told staff she had every intention to pay for them.

The shopping trip at the centre of the latest shoplifting allegations was captured on in-store security footage.

Ghahraman’s lawyer did not deny the initial allegations on Wednesday. The lawyer warned against reporting of the incident or the former MP’s name in order to “protect [the individual’s] trial rights and remedies if any charge was to be presented”.

Police did not have an update for the Herald on Thursday, saying the complaint remained under investigation.

The former Green MP, who resigned from Parliament last January when shoplifting allegations first emerged, was not at her Auckland home, her flatmate and tenant told the Herald on Thursday morning.

”I think she’s out of town with friends,” he said.

Another neighbour said he saw Ghahraman at her home on Monday.

He said her car was parked in one of a handful of allocated street parks that day but he hadn’t seen her or her car since.

Ghahraman pleaded guilty to four shoplifting charges in March 2024, relating to $9000 worth of theft from three separate stores in 2023.

She was convicted for the theft of more than $7800 worth of clothing during two trips to Scotties Boutique in Ponsonby in the week before Christmas in 2023.

She also stole $695 worth of clothing from Cre8tiveworx in Wellington in October and a $389 cardigan from Standard Issue in Newmarket during the same three-day period when she targeted the Ponsonby store.

In October 2024 at Auckland District Court, Judge June Jelas denied her request for a discharge without conviction, the basis for an appeal.

Pak’nSave would not confirm details of the shoplifting complaint when questioned.

“Each quarter, Foodstuffs North Island stores report 4500 to 5000 incidents of retail crime,” Pak’nSave said in response to the Herald’s questions.

“We have responsibilities around respecting people’s privacy, so providing information on whether an individual is known or not known to our retail crime teams is not something we can help you with.”

The Green Party had no comment on the matter.