Staff at an Auckland restaurant were "extremely traumatised" after an alleged "premeditated" aggravated robbery where one person was locked in a freezer for up to 10 minutes.
Police said the incident happened at around 7:30am on May 24 at the Bricklane Restaurant in New Lynn.
The restaurant was closed at the time and the doors locked, but a man was able to enter the restaurant after knocking on the window and getting a staff member's attention.
When she opened the door to see what he wanted the man pushed his way inside and allegedly revealed he had a gun.
Police said there were only two staff working at the time, a man and woman, and the alleged offender forced the woman into a freezer and ordered the male to crawl into the safe and tell him the combination.
After finding that neither of the staff members knew the safe's combination, the man allegedly threatened the two workers with the firearm before accepting they couldn't open the safe for him, police said.
"The suspect then rummaged through the manager's area and the pokies, before leaving the restaurant empty-handed."
Police said the robbery has had a "significant impact" on the staff, "who now feel unsafe coming to work and feel as though they are constantly looking over their shoulder".
"As you can imagine it's extremely traumatising, especially for the female victim who was locked in the freezer for up to 10 minutes," Constable Jack Turner of Henderson Police told Police Ten 7.
"She's still very shaken up and very terrified from the incident."
Although there is no CCTV footage of the man from inside the restaurant, as the company was upgrading its security cameras at the time of the incident, CCTV cameras around the area captured some footage of the alleged offender.
The footage shows the man leaving Sunnyvale Train Station around 7:10am and arriving at New Lynn Station. It also shows him arriving at and leaving the restaurant.
After the incident the man caught a train from Avondale Train Station, where he arrived at 7:52am then walked past the Avondale shops and across Great North Road.
The man is described as being quite tall with a "chubby build". At the time of the incident he was wearing green shorts and a blue jumper/hoodie.
"There is clear evidence of premeditation, and it is important that the suspect is caught for the safety of the public and for a resolution for the victims," police said.
