Police have made two arrests after a group that allegedly stole over $1000 worth of groceries from Countdown crashed their getaway car on an Auckland motorway.
Two women were taken into custody after a group of thieves fled Countdown in Greenlane with a hefty haul of stolen goods.
A customer who witnessed the thieves at work told the NZ Herald one woman sprinted out of the store with a trolley and pushed it towards the other offenders who were waiting in the car park. They then unloaded the items into the car and drove away.
"I have never seen food go so fast from a trolley into the back of a car... It was absolutely orchestrated so this definitely isn't their first time," they told the outlet.
A police spokesperson said at around 2pm on Saturday, police attended a minor crash between two vehicles near the Khyber Pass off-ramp on the Southern Motorway, northbound.
Police arrested two people in one of the vehicles which had left the Countdown with the stolen loot. The stolen property was recovered and returned to Countdown.
Two women aged in their 30s from Auckland are charged with theft from Countdown and two unrelated thefts. They will appear before the courts on November 30.
One young person was also located in the vehicle and referred to Youth Aid.
Police investigating the theft discovered on Sunday a fourth person was involved. Police are trying to locate the other offender.
