The owners of an escape room in Invercargill are reeling after two robbers broke into their business and stole a number of items, including a fake diamond.
The burglars targeted Solve It and Escape on Dee Street, a main road in the Southland city, at around 4:30am on Thursday morning.
In an appeal for help on social media, the owners shared security footage of the robbers in a bid for information.
"We had two people break into our escape room business last night. Just wondering if someone can help identify these people. The guy has a tattoo on half his face, that will probably help," they said.
The thieves left with a large bag of items, as well as a backpack and some toilet paper.
However, the loot might not be as lucrative as they thought.
"The fake diamond won't fetch them a lot unfortunately," the owners deadpanned.
According to their website, retrieving the diamond is the objective of Solve It and Escape's 'The Bank Job' room, which requires players to pull off a "bank robbery" by discovering clues and solving puzzles in a limited amount of time.
"With a few [things] ripped off the walls in The Bank Job, it will be out of action for the day while we repair things," the owners said.
"It is very gutting when someone wrecks something that you have invested so much time and money into."
Although locals expressed sympathy in the comments, others wondered if the robbers had assumed the diamond was real.
"Surely they didn't think it was actually real?!" said one.
In an update, the owners said they know the identities of both suspects and the police are investigating the theft.
"Police responded to reports of a burglary at a commercial address on Dee Street in Invercargill just after midnight on Thursday morning," a police spokesperson confirmed to Newshub.
"Police are still making inquiries."
