File photo. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Six people have been arrested after two separate alleged supermarket thefts in Auckland.
In one incident, police received a report a trio had allegedly left the supermarket in Highland Park in east Auckland without paying on Sunday afternoon, Inspector Rakana Cook said.
"Customers had alerted staff members to the theft after seeing them walk out without paying and load their vehicles with unpaid groceries.
Cook said two siblings were arrested after trying to flee on foot.
"A third person, a son of one of the others arrested, was taken into custody after being stopped a short distance away with a carload of groceries."
It was estimated that the six trolleys worth of groceries the trio allegedly took was worth $16,000.
A man, 35, is scheduled to appear in the Manukau District Court on 28 March charged with three counts of shoplifting.
A woman, 25, is charged with one count of shoplifting and will reappear in the Manukau District Court on 15 April.
An 18-year-old will appear in the Manukau District Court.
In a separate incident, police were alerted to three men leaving a supermarket on Manukau Road in Pukekohe with a shopping trolley full of meat products around midday on Saturday, Inspector Joe Hunter said.
"They then walked through the self-checkout without paying, while also threatening a member of the public who had confronted them during the incident.
"The offenders left the store and loaded the stolen meat into a vehicle in the car park and drove away."
Inspector Hunter said officers were able to find the vehicle because a member of the public noted the number plate and passed that information to police.
"In Drury, a police unit signalled for the driver to stop on Great South Road which he did, and the stolen meat was found inside.
Three men were taken into custody without incident," he said.
The meat, valued at about $750, was recovered and returned to the supermarket.
"Following enquiries, we have laid additional charges over an earlier incident at a Pōkeno supermarket on 21 March where around $1000 in meat products were stolen," said Inspector Hunter.
Two men, 39 and 25, were scheduled to appear in the Pukekohe District Court on 27 March facing multiple shoplifting charges.
A third man, 28, was also set to appear on shoplifting charges but faced a separate charge of speaking threateningly.