A hot-fingered thief may have been stopped in his tracks thanks to the long arm of the law.
Now cooling his heels in police custody, a suspect is set to face the music following a string of crimes across south and east Auckland.
“The Counties Manukau East Enquiries team we will allege that the same offender was responsible [for] 26 incidents of shoplifting and theft, the majority [of which] was theft from grocery stores, pharmacies, and petrol drive offs,” James Mapp (Counties Manukau East CIB) confirms.
“The number of charges and value of items allegedly stolen across the board reflects the level of harm inflicted on the retailers.”
Apprehended in Otara, a 36-year-old man will appear in Manukau District Court on July 29.
He has been trespassed from 17 locations across the region.
As reported recently, police believe they are coming to grips with retail crime – including ram raids – but there is more work to be done.
“We are continuing to focus our efforts on targeting those who are the most prolific in offending against retailers,” Mapp adds.
“Police have been actively patrolling known retail crime hotspots and will continue to work alongside our partners and retailers to prevent further offending and hold any offenders to account.”
