As police continue to investigate a spate of robberies that took place across Auckland over the week, they have a "particular" focus on the identity of one of the alleged offenders.
Three sports bars were robbed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, where the alleged offenders used hammers to smash through windows and allegedly threatened staff with a gun.
Police have now singled out one of the alleged offenders, who was caught on CCTV.
The footage shows him wearing a white shirt and jacket and a black cap.
"Enquiries continue to try and identify and locate the persons responsible, of particular we are keen to identify the second man pictured in the colour image provided," Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend said.
A silver Toyota Mark X with the registration HTU397 is also sought along with another man, captured on CCTV.
The alleged offenders hit three sports bars during their spree: Wapiti Sports Bar on Carrington Road, The Harlequin Sports Bar on Great North Road and Mount Albert Sports Bar on New North Road.
"Last night there was an increased police presence in the area," Friend said.
The manager of Wapiti Sports Bar in Auckland's Point Chevalier said his staff were unable to sleep after intruders broke in and allegedly pointed guns at the bar workers' heads.
Anton Rogers-Williams was not present, but said five of his team were there at the time of the robbery: a duty manager, a bar staff member, a security guard, a DJ and the DJ's sister.
He said his team was packing up just before 2am when a three-minute ordeal played out that left them "shocked".
"When it got to the end of the night, after the bar had been cleaned... all the cash had been tallied up... as they were turning the lights off and about to set the alarm, a group of all-aged individuals basically bypassed the security and the DJ that were outside, and came screaming through the door," he told 1News.
"They went straight for the staff before they could set the alarm... I'm gonna put it bluntly, [they had] guns pointed at my staff's heads, and basically kept them in the same location so they weren't even able to reach any [panic buttons]."
Nobody was harmed in the incident.
Friend said police were continuing to show a "no tolerance" attitude to crime.
He asked members of the public to report any crimes taking place in the community.
"Members of the public can assist us respond to crime by reporting suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhoods and places of work.
"If there is criminal or anti-social behaviour occurring right now, call 111, or 105 if it is after the fact."
SHARE ME