• Auckland shopkeepers foiled an armed robbery attempt on Saturday night.
• Four armed offenders smashed glass cabinets and stole electronics at Hotspot Electronics in Manukau.
• Police are investigating the incident, but no injuries were reported.

Auckland shopkeepers have been caught on camera foiling an armed robbery attempt, throwing items at the offenders from behind the counter.

The incident at Hotspot Electronics in Manukau was captured from various angles on CCTV.

Four armed and hooded offenders entered the mobile and electronic store at 6.04pm on Saturday.

Armed with hammers and a golf club, they smashed glass cabinets and started stuffing their bags with cell phones and other goods.

Police were called after an aggravated robbery on Norman Spencer Drive about 6.05pm.

The two store workers react quickly, hurling a cardboard box across the room and swinging a desk chair at the offenders.

As the group of four begin to flee, the workers chase them out of the store.

Police were called after an aggravated robbery on Norman Spencer Dr at about 6.05pm, a police spokesperson said.

“Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident. Electronics were reported to have been taken.”

Police enquiries are ongoing.

CCTV footage from outside the shop shows the four robbers fleeing in a small black vehicle.

Sunny Kaushal, the chairman of the Dairy and Business Owners Group, is leading the Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime.

“This is the sad reality of law and order in NZ,” he said of the robbery.

“These kinds of robberies and assaults destroy businesses and livelihoods, the retailers and consumers are paying a high price of this disorder.

“The biggest challenge we face is a perception by criminals that they are untouchable – that there are no consequences for their actions. That police won’t respond, and that even if they do, that the courts will let them go.

“This sense of impunity harms us all. It escalates violence and encourages more criminals to do more crime – because they know they can get away with it.

“This needs to stop. And that is what my work at the Ministerial Advisory Group is focused on – creating a zero-tolerance response to retail crime. Where the offender must know the real consequences."

He said the law needed to back retailers who defend themselves and their property.

“That’s what our proposals do... the difference now to two years ago is the ministers know crime is bad and they need to stop it.

“Progress is being made but more needs to be done.”

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.