Caltex Te Atatū in early morning ram raid - second in a year

A vehicle ploughed through the entrance of a Caltex service station on Te Atatu Rd in Te Atatū South in a ram raid early this morning.

Four thieves targeted the service station around 1.20am, with one staff member in the building.

The terrified petrol station worker was forced to lock themselves in a back room during the robbery by the young, masked assailants.

Manager Anoop Gangishetty said the worker locked themself in the back room “as soon as they heard the bang” of the car breaking through the glass.

Gangishetty said the alleged thieves were not carrying weapons and were unable to get into the cigarette cabinet, instead getting away with hoards of vapes, lollies and chips.

The worker was uninjured due to their quick thinking.

Photos from the scene show glass covering the forecourt along with Skittles and vapes. Gangishetty said he believed the offenders were young after reviewing CCTV footage and how many bags of lollies they stole.

A mask and headtorch were also left at the scene.

Police rushed to the scene and located a vehicle of interest dumped on nearby Sylvan Cres which has since been towed.

Vapes and Skittles packets littered the forecourt after the ram raid. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Gangishety confirmed this was the second time the service station had been ram-raided. The Herald understands the first raid was on October 31, 2023.

Both times, night-shift staff were inside the store, and their fog cannons were activated.

A police spokesperson said no one has been arrested and no injuries were reported.

“We ask anyone with footage or information that may assist to contact Police via our 105 phone service or online at https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105, using Update My Report,” the spokesperson said.

“Please reference job number P058500979.”

It’s the latest in a wave of petrol station robberies over recent months. Police have been carrying out preventive visits to dozens of stations following a spate of violent robberies - including at Caltex Western Springs, where a shop attendant was threatened by hammer-wielding thieves in broad daylight.

The shop front doors were completely destroyed by the vehicle. Photo / Hayden Woodward

This morning’s robbery follows a ram raid at a jewellery store in Newmarket yesterday - the second in just nine days.

Police were called to the scene of that robbery, at Partridge Jewellers on Broadway, around 7.30pm.

“A person entered a store and stole a number of items before leaving the scene in a vehicle that had several other occupants,” police said.

On April 12, employees at the store had to lock themselves in a back room as masked thieves ram-raided the shop and began smashing cabinets and stealing jewellery.