Wanted: Axe-wielding Ngongotahā bottle store robber appears on Police Ten 7

The man wielding an axe stole $455 and a bottle of Jim Beam from Bottle-O Ngongotahā. Photo / Supplied

A man who wielded an axe and stole $455 and a bottle of Jim Beam from Bottle-O Ngongotahā last month appeared on Police Ten 7 last night.

The man, who was concealing his face with a dark-green mask, while in a grey hoodie, black pants and shoes, was caught on camera on July 17 but is yet to be apprehended.

Police are hoping video footage of the man robbing the store, in which you can hear his voice, played on Police Ten 7 will help them find him.

In the video, the man tells the store employee to open the register and takes $455. As he is walking out he takes a bottle of Jim Beam and apologies to the employee.

He goes down an alley, jumps a fence and leaves the axe under a trailer.

After the robbery, store owner Charanjit Dhillon told the Rotorua Daily Post he left briefly to get some dinner, leaving one staff member who had been working for him for six months.

At 9.01pm, a man walked into the store with a axe, threatening the staff member and demanding money.

After less than two minutes, the alleged offender left the store on foot with a bottle of Jim Beam and $455.

Dhillon said he had just recently trained the employee with what to do in this situation.

"He was very calm ... he did so well."

The Bottle-O Ngongotahā was robbed by a man with an axe last month. Photo / Supplied

When the staff member called him, Dhillon came back immediately.

"I thought, oh my God," he said.

Dhillon owned five Bottle-O's in the city and said this was the third time in 13 years across all his liquor stores that 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.

Police anyone with information that could help identify the man to call 105 and quote file number 200717/6853. Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.