Police are hoping CCTV footage from an aggravated robbery in south Auckland will identify the four masked offenders.
The offenders entered the dairy on Raglan St, Mangere, on Tuesday at 7:30pm and bashed a shopkeeper on the back of the head.
They then held a knife to his throat and took off with cigarettes.
Detective Inspector Fa'amanuia Va'aelua is head of the taskforce set up to deal with aggravated robberies across Auckland. He says while the footage is disturbing he hopes someone will recognise the offenders and come forward.
"I have no doubt that someone will recognise these absolute cowards from this footage and from the stills that we posted yesterday."
"It is absolutely disgusting."
It's the latest in a string of violent dairy robberies, with 68 people in Auckland alone arrested for aggravated robberies since February.
Dairies across the country fear they'll have to pull tobacco and cigarettes from their shelves to prevent thefts, if police can't offer them better security.
If you have information on this incident which can assist police then please call the Counties Manukau Major Crime Team on 09 261 1300, alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
You can also send a private message to the Counties Manukau Police Facebook page.
Newshub.
