Man's heroic actions after Auckland robbery

Man's heroic actions after Auckland robbery

A 28-year-old Auckland man is being labelled as a local hero after putting his life on the line to intercept a west Auckland robbery.

When Tavita Milo witnessed a jewellery store being held up, he couldn't help but, help.

But police are still looking for the man responsible.

Mr Milo doesn't consider himself heroic, but after the events of Tuesday morning, others definitely do.

"No I don't, I don't consider myself a hero, not at all, not even one bit; I just believe that everyone should stand up for each other and do the right thing," says Mr Milo.

Mr Milo was getting breakfast at a cafe in west Auckland's Lynn Mall when he realised things at the next-door jewellery shop weren't right.

He watched in disbelief as a man filled a bag with $250,000-worth of jewellery, terrifying the female shop attendant.

After alerting authorities, Mr Milo took action, carefully following the man to the getaway car. 

"I reached in, grabbed the bag, and he kind of murmured, you mother **** and he grabbed it as well, so some of the stuff fell out of the car onto the road but I grabbed the bag out," says Mr Milo.

He didn't know at the time, but he had recovered $50,000 worth of bling.

"He was outside his car and had the nerve to yell out to everyone to stop that guy, so I was like, you cheeky fella!" he says.

Vigilante action isn't something police encourage, but for Mr Milo it was a simple case of looking out for others.

"What I want is everyone to stand up for each other, you know not only as Aucklanders but as New Zealanders as a whole. All of us have to look out for each other," says Mr Milo.

Waitemata police still want anyone with information to come forward. They think someone out there must know who the offender is and believe he was also behind a robbery at the nearby Warehouse the Sunday night before, where they say ran away empty-handed.

Newshub.