Photo: 123RF
A South Auckland petrol station has been robbed, with a group smashing a glass window to get in.
It is just the latest in a string of Auckland petrol station break-ins in recent weeks.
Police said multiple offenders smashed a window to gain entry to the service station on Weymouth Road, Manurewa.
The robbery was reported at 2.05am Sunday.
One person was working at the time, but was not injured.
Police said it would have been a distressing incident for the worker and asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers or 105, quoting the file number 240310/9889.
Officers stepped up patrols of petrol stations this week after a spate of robberies in the Auckland region.
On Thursday, Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said there had been five incidents across the city since Sunday - two aggravated robberies in Western Springs and Green Bay, and burglaries in Papatoetoe, Glen Eden and Remuera.
The patrols were particularly focussed on petrol stations that operated 24 hours a day, he said.
"Like our community, police are appalled at some of the violent behaviour that has been inflicted on people just doing their job," Baldwin said.
"We will continue to work to hold offenders to account that are inflicting harm on businesses and their employees."