An Auckland supermarket owner is in disbelief after his business was broken into twice overnight by what appeared to be the same person.
The burglar allegedly gained access to the Mount Wellington store by cutting a hole in the roof and crawling on the floor with a headlamp to avoid setting off fog cannons.
Security footage provided to 1News showed the man heading straight to the office where he allegedly broke into the safe and stole thousands of dollars in cash and coins.
The shop owner, who lived nearby, said he was alerted by his alarm company shortly before 1am and checked his CCTV camera.
“I saw someone on the floor crawling, and he had a headlamp on. I straight away picked up the phone and called the police. Within five minutes I arrived, but I think he’d left already.”
Police confirmed the first burglary was reported just before 1am and said the offender fled before officers arrived.
Just over two hours later, while the shop owner and his wife were reviewing CCTV footage from the first incident, another break-in occurred.
“He walked in the back door, same roof, came out, crawled from the back to the front counter,” he said.
Owner was reviewing CCTV footage when a burglar appeared again on the premises. (Source: 1News)
“He broke all my till machines, and he was trying to, I think he [was] trying to look for the camera system or something to break it, or our alarm system.”
When he moved the cigarette cabinet to reach it, the fog cannon activated, filling the store with thick smoke.
“He got disorientated, so he ran mistakenly into the staff room instead of the back, but within seconds, he climbed up,” the shop owner said.
He said he believed the burglar might have had help or prior knowledge of the store layout.
“He went straight into the office, I have no idea how he knows that it’s an office in there, so I feel like someone knew the store.
“He was talking to the headphone, maybe some kind of instructions, or someone watching him outside for the cops coming or something.”
Police confirmed the second incident at about 3.30am and said they were investigating the reported burglaries.
“Police are working hard to find the person responsible and hold them to account.”
