Serial shoplifter who brandished gun in Auckland supermarket had 39 warrants for arrest

South Auckland police have arrested a man who had 39 warrants out for his arrest and has been accused of at least 12 counts of shoplifting and pointing a gun at a person in a supermarket.

He brandished the gun at Highland Park supermarket on January 6 and was arrested last week, after a series of other shoplifting incidents.

Police arrested the 34-year-old, whom they said had been causing “great harm”, as they were executing a search warrant in Papakura last week.

He was remanded in custody until his first court appearance. He will go before the Papakura District Court on Friday.

Police also summonsed a 37-year-old woman to court on two joint shoplifting charges with the man. She will appear in court on January 4.

Sergeant Phill Moody said the man was also sought by the National Retail Investigation Unit.

“We have no tolerance for this offending being committed in our communities, and we will continue to target and hold offenders to account for their actions,” he said.

Recent South Auckland arrests include women accused of shoplifting, assault; teen boy behind 20 burglaries

Other recent arrests relating to shoplifting and burglaries in South Auckland include two women who faced 15 shoplifting and assault charges between them, with one accused of spraying disinfectant in a security guard’s face.

Another arrest included a 16-year-old boy who has allegedly been behind 20 burglaries around Auckland since October.

Police arrested the teen on Thursday morning after executing a search warrant at an address in Ōtara.

He mainly targeted restaurants and other eateries in Botany, Flat Bush, East Tāmaki, Manukau and Papatoetoe, acting Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Martin said.

One of the women charged with shoplifting and assault was accused of threatening, beating a retail worker with a baseball bat, throwing glass jars at workers before fleeing with a trolley-load of stolen goods on another occasion and threatening, assaulting workers with a hammer before again running away with a full trolley in another incident.

Police arrested a 24-year-old two weeks ago after she allegedly assaulted the security guard at a shop in Takanini.

She was due to appear in the Manukau District Court on Friday on six shoplifting charges and two aggravated assault charges.

The second woman, a 34-year-old, was arrested yesterday when officers saw her in a car linked to another shoplifting incident and pulled it over.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.