“Three occupants of the vehicle aged between 15 and 20 were arrested.”
Bright said she acknowledged the careful coordination of all police staff involved in last night’s operation.
“We’re incredibly pleased with the progress made by the enquiry team over the past six days.
“Police take this sort of aggravated offending seriously and work to hold offenders to account as swiftly as possible.”
An employee at a nearby restaurant on the night confirmed to the Herald that the Michael Hill store was targeted in the robbery just before closing time.
This comes after a repeated history of recent Michael Hill robberies nationwide.
In March this year, the Michael Hill Jewellers in the Mānawa Bay Shopping Centre near Auckland Airport was hit in a brazen smash-and-grab.
A video taken inside the mall during the robbery showed a group wearing masks and hoodies and wielding tools while smashing their way into the glass cabinets.
Michael Hill chief executive Daniel Bracken told the Herald in 2023 that security costs at retailers across Auckland to counter ram raids by criminals impacted operations.
The company is “still very much on high alert about security events”, he told investors.
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