Three men have been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged arson and burglary of a west Auckland discount store gutted in a fire early today.
Police spokesman Kevin Loughlin told NZPA a 17-year-old man had been arrested and charged with arson and burglary, after he was found with
stolen property from Geoff's Emporium in Lincoln Rd, Henderson.
An 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old youth have been charged with burglary
The 18-year-old appeared in Waitakere District Court this afternoon and was remanded in custody to reappear tomorrow for a bail application hearing.
The 16-year-old was still being dealt with by police.
The store was burning fiercely when firefighters arrived about 1am.
Police recovered property valued at $1000 from two of the accused.
The 18-year-old was apprehended at the scene. while the 17-year-old was arrested after police with a search warrant found stolen property at his house.
Fire safety officer Ray Coleman confirmed to NZPA the fire was started deliberately.
"We've still got to go back there tomorrow to cross a few t's and dot a few i's, but we should have our investigation wrapped up by mid morning.
"We've been assisting the police all day, and we're sure it was arson," he said.
Mr Coleman said he had a reasonable idea of how it started but could not elaborate now that the matter was before the courts.
"It's been a very severe fire.
"The actual fire was confined to Geoff's Emporium. The heat and smoke had penetrated virtually through the entire length of the factory, and there's at least another four businesses within the building which were affected," Mr Coleman said.
Sixty firefighters and 14 fire trucks battled for about two hours to contain the blaze and stop it spreading to adjoining buildings.
No one was hurt.
- NZPA
