Suspect tailed and arrested after robbery

Photo / File

An off-duty policeman tailed a stolen car until other officers and armed offenders squad members stopped and arrested the man who was wanted after a knife-point robbery.

The robbery, which Whangarei and Kaipara area commander Inspector Tracey Phillips said involved "stand-over tactics with a knife", took place at a Whangarei address soon after midnight on Wednesday.

Two men have been arrested and charged over the alleged aggravated robbery. The stolen car was searched and towed away for forensic investigations.

The arrests followed an earlier operation that saw a large contingent of police and AOS members surround a house in Mt Pleasant Rd, Otaika. Police had used a loud-hailer to tell the occupants they were surrounded and to leave the property with their hands-up.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, heard a popping sound after police repeated they had the house surrounded.

"They were there for about 45 minutes, and were telling [the occupants] to come out with their hands up," he said.

His young son had been scared by the commotion, the man said.

No one was arrested and the cordon was lifted at 2.30pm.

Quentin Moriarty of Liquorland Otaika said he knew something was up when police arrived on the scene with firearms. "There's a general thought that it's about one guy in the area," he said.

The incident was the second in two days involving armed police. On Wednesday police had been called to a rural Kamo address where there were fears for the safety of a man with mental health problems.