The man was concealing his face with a dark-green mask, while in a grey hoodie, black pants and shoes. Photo / Supplied
Police are appealing for information on a man who wielded an axe in a Ngongotahā bottle store robbery.
Images were released today of the man who stole $455 and a bottle of Jim Beam from the Bottle-O Ngongotahā on Friday night.
The man was concealing his face with a dark-green mask, while in a grey hoodie, black pants and shoes.
He was holding the axe with black gloves with some type of white emblem on them. He had a black and white Adidas backpack on.
Store owner Charanjit Dhillon told the Rotorua Daily Post he left briefly to get some dinner around 8.55pm, leaving one staff member who had been working for him for six months.
At 9.01pm, a man walked into the store with an axe, threatening the staff member and demanding money.
The entire ordeal lasted two minutes.
Anyone with information that could help identify the man pictured is urged to call Police on 105 and quote file number 200717/6853.
Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Dhillon owned five Bottle-O's in the city and said this was the third time in 13 years across all his liquor stores there had been an aggravated robbery.
The last time was five years ago when a woman with a knife robbed the store, the time before that was 10 years ago when a man with a "big knife" came into the store.
A police spokeswoman said police were called just after 9pm to an armed robbery at the liquor store.
The fire took place around midnight and took firefighters three hours to control.
