A 35-year-old woman and four teenagers have been charged over a violent smash and grab at an Auckland jewellery store.
The robbery occurred at Ellerslie Jewellers & Engravers just after 4:30pm on Monday.
Police said four men and a woman have been charged with aggravated robbery.
"A 35-year-old woman and two 18-year-old men are due to appear in Auckland District Court today," detective senior sergeant Scott Armstrong from the Auckland City CIB said.
"Meanwhile, a 16-year-old and 17-year-old are due to appear in the Youth Court to face their charges."
Armstrong said they responded to the robbery with the police eagle helicopter and arrested the group on a nearby street a short time later.
The violent robbery saw bystanders take matters into their own hands when they scrambled to stop the hammer-wielding thieves fleeing with stolen goods.
Videos of the robbery showed members of the public trying to smash the windscreen of the thief's car while another person attempted to slash a rear tyre.
Acting Prime Minister Grant Robertson told AM on Tuesday the attacks are horrendous and incredibly distressing for store owners but he said thankfully the offenders were apprehended quickly.
"It's frightening, it's distressing and we don't want anybody to have to be going through that situation," he said.
"This is an issue, this is the type of offending - the ram-raiding that is currently in fashion, as it were. Police have obviously arrested hundreds of people over the course of the last few months in that regard and they have to keep doing that."
