Ram raiders target BOP liquor store

CCTV shows the ram raiders “were only in there for a couple of minutes”, Rotorua Central Super Liquor operations manager James Magatogia says. Photo: Matthew Martin/Stuff.

Thousands of dollars worth of spirits and RTDs have been stolen from a Bay of Plenty liquor store in a ram raid that also wrecked the shop frontage.

Police were called to Rotorua Central Super Liquor on Fenton St, less than 1km from the Rotorua Police Station, about 4.30am on Wednesday.

According to the store's operations manager James Magatogia, CCTV footage showed two vehicles arrive in the early hours of Wednesday morning and at least three people enter the store.

Magatogia says the offenders stole thousands of dollars worth of stock, including boxes of Vodka Cruisers and bottles of spirits displayed behind the counter.

'They pulled up in two vehicles – a grey Nissan Tiida and a ute with a canopy on it.”

The Nissan was backed through the shop doors, he says, and three people jumped out of the vehicles and started loading the ute with alcohol.

'They were only in there for a couple of minutes. They left the Tiida in the carpark and left in the ute.

'Apparently the Tiida was stolen from somewhere in Hamilton.”

Magatogia says the store's roller doors will need to be replaced, along with its glass sliding doors, but 'we'll be open again this afternoon”.

The ram raid caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the store. Supplied photo.

He says staff will spend the morning cleaning up the mess and restocking shelves.

According to a police statement, no offenders have been caught at this stage and the Rotorua CIB are investigating the raid.

Rotorua's Fenton St has been the subject of national attention since the start of the pandemic due to rising crime rates on and around the city's 'Motel Mile” where some motels were being used for emergency accommodation by the Ministry of Social Development.

The liquor store is across the road from a motel used for emergency accommodation that caught fire on the weekend. It was the fourth fire at an emergency accommodation motel on Fenton St in the last seven months.

Magatogia says that, prior to Wednesday's ram raid, four large windows in the building had been smashed at different times and grills has been installed.

-Stuff/Matthew Martin.

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