By Dave Goosselink
A 3 News camera got some exclusive pictures in the night of the darker side a disaster can bring out.
Looters, scammers, and profiteers are all adding to the distress and concerns of residents – and our camera was there when they caught one.
The man was caught by the army and handed over to police in the early hours of this morning, after picking through property at a youth centre in Riccarton.
There will be no sympathy for offenders.
“They are looking forward to the courts taking the same hardline approach that they did last time, and it stopped it in its tracks,” Police Minister Judith Collins says.
Two other young men have already appeared in court, charged with stealing three generators, which had been powering phone services for hundreds of customers.
There have also been reports some Australians are among those arrested, for posing as search and rescue workers.
“And what I would ask the people of Canterbury is, if you've got officials coming to your home, demand identification and explanation, and if you're not satisfied, ring us,” police nightwatch commander Superintendent Russell Gibson says.
Police are preparing to ramp up patrols around the city.
Residents can expect a large increase in police presence, with 300 officers due from Australia.
They will be deployed, along with further New Zealand officers, into the suburbs from tomorrow.
“So over the next 24 and 48 hours, if you're in the suburbs of Christchurch, you will see a radical saturation of patrols of police officers,” Superintendent Dave Cliff says.
Many residents have fled Christchurch, but some have left family members behind to protect their homes from the looters.
“It's just unbelievable that they'd go doing things like that. I mean it's obvious they haven't got a conscience at all to go looting people that have just lost everything,” says resident ‘Cathy’.
Residents are again being urged not to panic buy; around two thirds of supermarkets are open, with fresh stock arriving daily.
Oil companies say drivers shouldn't be stockpiling petrol, with fuel supplies coming in regularly.
Amidst reports of shortages and price gouging, 3 News found a Spreydon dairy with four fridges full of milk, at prices anyone could smile about.
3 News
source: newshub archive
