Five people have been arrested following the ram-raid of a Royal Oak liquor store on Wednesday morning.
Police said in a statement they were quickly on the scene and arrested three people after the Royal Oak Liquor Centre was burgled at 2:58am.
"Police located two others nearby who were also taken into custody," a police spokesperson said.
Two stolen vehicles were recovered at the scene, the police spokesperson said.
Five youths aged between 12 and 15 years old will be referred to youth aid on charges of burglary and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.
It is the third time in three weeks that the liquor store has been raim-raided.
The latest burglary comes a day after an Auckland liquor store was ram-raided with thieves smashing into the entrance and then stealing alcohol and a box of peanut slabs.
On Monday, thieves smashed into a dairy in Penrose before making off with stolen goods in a Toyota Wish.
Last week, an Auckland business owner helped fight off thieves trying to rob a Remuera watch shop.
The owner took on a group of thieves, one of them allegedly armed with an axe, as they attempted a mid-afternoon smash and grab of the watch shop About Time.
It comes after documents revealed to Newshub showed a dramatic spike in ram-raids.
In the first six months of this year, there have been 254 ram raids - that's a 518 percent increase from the first six months of 2018.
A police report analysing a year of ram raids found 76 percent were committed by youths under 17 years old and 17 percent were under 13 years old.
