Ram raid frightens owners

The owners of an Ōtorohanga dairy targeted in an early morning ram raid are shaken but relieved no one was hurt in the incident.

Satnam Banga said he and his family were woken in the early hours of Friday morning when police told them a vehicle had been driven into their Trios Main Road Dairy.

CCTV in the shop caught the moment a vehicle was driven into the front door at 3.58am.

“After that six of them came inside ... six boys,” Satnam said.

“A guy passing through rang the police and they came straight away.”

Two cigarette cabinets behind the counter were stolen, as was the cash till.

Satnam said the culprits used a crowbar to pry the cabinets from the wall and a bolt cutter was used to cut the lock off the front.

This was the first ram raid since he took ownership of the dairy in 2009.

The wider community thought it was a first overall.

“All the local people say this is the first time in the whole life of the dairy this has happened,” Satnam said.

With a government-enforced reduction in the number of retailers allowed to sell tobacco looming, he is considering not stocking cigarettes any longer.

The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act will see the number of tobacco retailers reduced from 6000 to 600 nationally.

It is expected just one store will be allowed to sell tobacco in Ōtorohanga by the end of the year.

“We can think about [not stocking cigarettes],” he said.

“Otherwise, the Government is stopping [as many retailers selling cigarettes] next year, only one year to go.”

A lot of business is related to tobacco.

“People buy cigarettes and will buy bread, milk. People will come buy a cigarette and pie and drink.

“If we don’t have cigarettes, people who want a pie, a drink will go to the other shop.”

Satnam said the whole ordeal was frightening, but the community had been a huge support in the following days.

“That was scary.

“The whole community, all the people around here are coming here, they’re supporting us.

“The mayor came here too. It was very nice for him to come here and say hello to us, see how we are, say he is available if we need any kind of support.”

Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter posted on Facebook on Friday afternoon to condemn the ram raid:

“Sad news for town with our first ram raid this morning at Trios (Main Road Dairy).

“Please share your aroha with the [Banga] whānau. Thankfully nobody was hurt and the police believe they know the culprits.

“The pain and anguish these raids cause a community is horrible and desperately needs to stop.”

Police say they are following several lines of enquiry in their investigations, including the review of CCTV footage from within the premises and neighbouring properties.

Two vehicles were used to commit the crime; one to reverse into the front sliding doors of the dairy and a second to flee the scene with the stolen goods.

One of the vehicles was stolen from Te Kūiti.

Police have images of six people using tools, including bolt cutters, to gain entry into the building by ripping the damaged doors away from the frame.

The whole incident occurred in less than two minutes.

Police recovered the getaway vehicle and the remnants of the cigarette containers from the Te Kūiti and Te Mapara areas.

The till was found inside the getaway vehicle. The vehicle used to ram the building was left at the scene.

The items are being forensically examined.

The dairy was not the only King Country business targeted in a ram raid last week.

About 24 hours before, Seriously Outdoors in Taumarunui was hit.

Police found, arrested and charged a youth on Friday, who appeared in Taumarunui Youth Court on burglary charges.

Police have not ruled out further arrests.

Seriously Outdoors’ owners have posted on their Facebook page to express their gratitude for the community’s support.

They said the local police had been “outstanding” in their investigations.