Police are searching for a black, two-door Nissan Skyline and four occupants, after shops in Te Puke and Katikati were robbed at gunpoint. A Te Puke jewellery store was held up at 11am on Friday.

Police cordon off a Te Puke jewellery store after it was allegedly robbed.

SunLive spoke to a witness who says he saw the suspects drive off immediately after the robbery.
The witness followed the car to the small settlement of Waitangi east of Te Puke but says he could not keep up with the fast speed.
The man, who is not from Te Puke, was driving past the jewellery store and saw one of the alleged offenders get into the Nissan Skyline.
He says the man he saw had an object in his hand. The witness could clearly see people sitting in the backseat of the car.
A store employee from a neighbouring shop, who did not want to be identified, says he heard a loud crash when the robbery occurred.
'Me and a customer were standing here and then we heard a crash, like someone had backed into a car, but when we ran outside, we didn't see anything."
There was damage to a vehicle still parked outside the jewellery store when SunLive was at the scene.

The black Skyline was reported to have been driven east out of Te Puke towards Rotorua or Whakatane but the same vehicle was later involved in an alleged drive-off from a petrol station on Cameron Road at 1pm.
Te Puke Police spent several hours interviewing employees from the jewellery store.

Police are investigating whether the second robbery, in Katikati, was linked. Paper Plus in Katikati was robbed by a person witnesses say held a shotgun, at about 2.30pm. Police at the scene confirmed the armed robbery and it's believed the shop owner had a shotgun pointed at him. Witnesses told police the alleged offender drove north in a dark Nissan Skyline.

The police Eagle helicopter was called in for the search. The car was last seen around Athenree.

It is thought the getaway car was stolen and may be abandoned in the Waihi or Coromandel area.

SunLive will update the story as more information is available.

Watch the SunLive video of a witness to the Katikati incident speaking with police, below.