A dairy owner in Auckland's Te Atatū has lost thousands of dollars in stock in a brazen ram-raid just two days before Christmas.
Samir Ghandi is calling for the teenagers responsible to be put behind bars, and he says after 500 ram-raids this year he wants the Government to deliver on its promised increased police numbers.
With a smash and a shove four youths rammed their way into the Te Atatū Superette before dawn on Saturday.
The driver then got back behind the wheel for another hit.
"[They] just got in there one by one, not wearing any face masks or hand gloves," Ghandi told Newshub.
"We never expect it to happen like this. It's still quite shocking for me and for my family."
He said the group of youths took more than 100 vapes, plus cash and his dignity.
"Very big, stressful, leaving a big mess. It won't be fixed in two days. It'll take time to get back to normal."
After 17 years in business, he's crushed.
"You see mostly the young doing this targeting, so we just need a better law for putting them behind the bars."
Police are following strong leads in their search for the group who used at least one stolen car.
Their faces were caught in plain sight on CCTV before they brazenly loaded up stock from the back room.
"It's Christmas time, and these hard-working people are trying to do their job. You have these crims who think they have the immunity to do anything - they think they're above the law," said Sunny Kaushal, chair of the Dairy Owners Association.
"It's not acceptable."
The new Government welcomed 62 new police to the frontline last week.
Kaushal is urging the Police Minister not to take the foot off the gas.
"The new Police Minister has started a strong start and needs to send a strong message to the Police Commissioner that we need to get firm, and this kind of crime is not acceptable," he said.
"There needs to be zero tolerance for this crime."
Police Minister Mark Mitchell has already made it clear he wants a return to back-to-basics policing, and he's promising the resources to do that.
"What they promise they need to deliver. They need to walk the talk and walk urgently," said Kaushal.
Several vehicles were involved, including a Nissan Wingroad (registration JDY537), which was last seen on Māngere Road just before 7am.
A forensic investigation has been completed and Police say enquiries are ongoing to track the youths down.
