At the time the Chronicle went to print on Wednesday, 23rd November, the suspects had not been found. An update was given later that arrests have been made in connection with the BP service station.
Raglan police hope to soon make an arrest regarding the early morning ram raid on the BP service station on Sunday, and a person is before the courts regarding the burglary of the Wainui Road Superette in October.
At about 4am, a stolen vehicle was driven through the front glass doors of the BP and offenders made off with an “incidental amount” of cigarettes and tobacco.
Constable Dean McMillan said police had strong leads on the burglary of the BP from CCTV footage, forensics; “the whole lot really”.
He said CCTV footage showed a number of offenders in “very distinctive clothing”.
“We should have someone accountable in the next day or so,” he said on Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, a person is currently before the courts for burglary of the Wainui Road Superette on October 18. Forensics from a glove left at the scene had led to a positive identification on the police database.
Information was also “trickling in” on the burglary at the Thirsty Liquor on Sunday, November 13. Police were looking for four young men in relation to the attack on a worker at the store, who was beaten to the ground, and subsequent theft of alcohol.
It was reported that two stolen cars were used in the ram raid of the BP on Sunday morning.
One of the cars was left onsite and the other has since been recovered.
Head of BP retail Kerry Forde said the offenders made off with an “incidental amount of cigarettes and tobacco and called the crime a “business disruption”.
He said ram raids happened a lot in the service station industry across New Zealand.
“It’s something we are always conscious of. We accept it as part of the business that we are in.”
“We take the safety of customers and staff seriously. We want to make sure we are a safe site so people feel comfortable about being onsite.
He said security was a challenge for sites that weren’t open 24/7, but “our security system worked”.
Six new security cameras are due to be installed in Raglan before Christmas.
Inger Vos
