The Michael Hill store on King St in Pukekohe, Auckland. Photo / Google Maps
The Michael Hill store on King St in Pukekohe, Auckland. Photo / Google Maps
Two teenagers are among a trio set to appear in court facing aggravated robbery charges after an alleged heist at a Michael Hill jewellery store involving an axe and hammer.
Counties Manukau Police said they have been investigating after a group allegedly entered the Michael Hill branch in KingSt, Pukekohe, at 5.45pm last Friday.
Those arrested, aged 15, 17 and 20, were due to appear in Manukau Youth Court today, charged with aggravated robbery and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.
Detective Inspector Karen Bright said a vehicle of interest was identified at a Henderson petrol station around midnight last night.
“West Auckland police responded quickly to Lincoln Rd and, with the assistance of the police Eagle helicopter, stopped the vehicle,” she said.
“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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