Police have arrested two men over a "nasty" and unprovoked attack on two French tourists who were hitch-hiking in the Bay of Plenty.
The 21-year-old backpackers were hitch-hiking from Mt Maunganui to Rotorua on July 7 when they were picked up and driven to a disused service station near WelcomeBay Rd.
They were assaulted and most of their possessions - including nearly all their clothes, passports, cash cards, cell phones, and one of their backpacks - were stolen.
Both received minor injuries where they had property pulled from their body and was punched in the face several times.
The young men managed to write down the registration number of the offenders' car, which they described as a black four-door sedan in rough condition, as it drove away.
Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner said a Ngaruawahia man, 26, and a Mount Maunganui man, 24, had been arrested after searches were carried out at properties in Tauranga and Mt Maunganui this morning.
The pair are set to appear in the Tauranga District Court tomorrow charged with aggravated robbery.
