Horowhenua StarA Foxton vape store owner will join a growing list of retailers investing in concrete bollards after his shop was ram-raided early on Sunday morning.
It was the third time Tom Nelson’s Publos Vape Store has been burgled in the last 19 months. Having already installed both a security door and a steel roller door, the next preventative measure available is to concrete in a row of steel bollards. The bollards are now commonplace outside a host of businesses throughout the district, a sign of the times.
Tom says although “thankfully” no-one was in the store at the time, the incident has left staff feeling ill at ease.
“It’s a painful experience, for everyone. It has ripples bigger than the crime itself,” he says.
An early estimate has stock stolen valued at $2500, while it could cost twice that amount to repair the damage.
“It’s also the interruption to business, more than what is taken. It costs more to fix the damage than replace the stock they took.”
Video footage showing four people entering the vape store through the smashed roller door, and unhappy Publos Vape Store staff member Tempesst Pitcher.
A security guard had to be stationed outside the building during the day and overnight until repairs were complete. Tom says if there is one consolation it was that police caught those believed responsible. After ram-raiding the store at 2.30am, they fled in a vehicle spotted travelling at speed into Palmerston North.
Police deployed road spikes near Karere Road, bringing the vehicle to a stop on Pioneer Highway. Two youths aged 14 and 15, and one 24-year-old man, were arrested.
The 15-year-old appeared in Palmerston North Youth Court and the 24-year-old in Palmerston North District Court on Tuesday on related charges.
Instore security video footage showed a vehicle being used to smash the roller door and four people entering the store.
Manawatū area commander, Inspector Ross Grantham, says police understand the frustration and fear that offending causes.
“I’m proud of the work that police staff do all day, every day, and I hope these arrests give victims of crime some reassurance that police will respond quickly to incidents and hold offenders to account,” he says.
The incident is the latest in a long line of
ram-raids in the district, although there has been a nationwide decline since a peak of 433 reported ram-raids in 2022.
Recent ram-raids in Horowhenua include:
• the Queenwood Road Dairy in November
• an Oxford Street business in October, where a front-end loader was used
• two dairies on Oxford Street within a week in January 2023.
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