Woman takes aggressive lead in machete robberies

File photo / NZ Herald

The young woman involved in a spate of machete robberies in central Auckland is said to have been the main aggressor in at least one of the attacks.

Police in Auckland were last night still searching for a group of machete-wielding muggers, made up of the woman and two men, all aged in their late teens or early 20s.

The group attacked six people in four different parts of Auckland over two hours early on Saturday.

Brandishing a machete, they threatened the pedestrians and robbed them of their cellphones and money.

The first attacked occurred in Dominion Rd in Mt Eden, the next at Mission Bay, then in Customs St in the city, and the last was at the intersection of Balmoral and St Andrews Rds in Epsom.

None of the pedestrians - two of whom were alone at the time - were physically hurt.

Detective Sergeant Andy King said police wanted to catch the offenders quickly as the robberies were "quite ugly attacks".

"The female appears to take quite a leading role in the offending.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that she's the leader, but she certainly has not been shy and [has] shown quite a lot of aggression," Mr King said.

"She has had possession of one of the weapons ... From a police perspective, that's relatively unusual.

"In one of the attacks, she was the main aggressor ... the one on Customs St [involving] a couple."

Mr King said it was not yet known whether the group had been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the attacks.

The fact that the muggers were very aggressive in their demands and appeared to have been calculated in their actions was also of great concern.

"People should be able to go out and about and enjoy themselves and walk the streets in safety.

"But unfortunately when you get a group like this around, it gives police great concerns for members of the public's safety," Mr King said.

"Obviously the concern is theywill do it again if they're notcaught."

The offenders are all described as Europeans aged in their late teens or early 20s.

They were dressed in dark, hooded sweatshirts and the woman was believed to have blonde hair tied in a plait.

They were possibly travelling in a maroon or purple sedan.

Anyone with information should contact Auckland City police on (09) 302-6653 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555- 111.

- Additional reporting: NZPA