Wellington bar manager dragged through restaurant by robbers, yet to return to work

Police are seeking assistance from the public to help identify the two people pictured below following an aggravated robbery in Strathmore, Wellington.

One of the victims of a violent armed robbery at a Strathmore bar is yet to return to work after being dragged through the restaurant by knife-wielding offenders.

Wellington police are on the hunt for two men who walked into the Strathmore Local on the evening of August 6 and stole a large amount of cash.

“We had two staff closing up the bar,” owner Jean Sara told NZME, noting it was about 9.15pm when the robbers struck.

“Fifteen minutes after we locked the front doors the two men jumped over our back fence and came through the back door. They basically picked the staff up, dragged them into our office, and made the manager open the safe for them.”

The bat used in the robbery. Photo / NZ Police.

It took about two minutes for the robbers to clean out the safe, after which they fled the same way they came in.

The manager suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital, and is yet to return to work weeks on from the traumatic incident.

“When they came in, I think the staff found it quite surreal at the time. It took them a moment to realise, by the time they had been thrown on the ground, what was going on.”

Sara said her staff did exactly what she would have wanted them to do - kept their heads down and didn’t try to “play the hero”.

Since the incident, they are “taking it one day at a time”.

Sara had a message for the robbers, saying she was “really disappointed.

“No matter how desperate you are for money, there’s just absolutely no reason to put anybody else through this sort of trauma.”

She urged the men to come forward and give themselves to the police.

“What you did was awful and completely unnecessary.”

Police said the men threatened the staff with a knife and a bat.

Detective Constable Jocelyn Bell told the Herald the robbery was over in minutes, with the two men leaving the premises at 9.18pm carrying “quite a large amount of cash”.

So far there had been no leads, but Bell said it was imperative that anyone with information come forward.

“Anyone who thinks they know who the males are, or recogise that bat or where it’s from – anyone who can help us identify them and bring them to account.”

A man pictured wearing the green hoodie in security footage is believed to have a large tattoo on his back that extends to his lower back area and has a large stomach.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Constable Bell on 021 190 9729 or call 105.