Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, May 17, 2023
A 111 call was made shortly after 12.05pm yesterday, May 16, 2023 when a man and woman entered a bank on Rora Street, Te Kuiti and demanded cash. Police confirmed they were called to the ANZ bank, on the town centre’s Rora Street shortly after midday on Monday.
Both the offenders are believed to have been armed, but thankfully nobody was injured. They were both dressed in black and fled on a black, farm-style motorbike as seen in the image provided by the Police. The Police Eagle helicopter responded and assisted with area searches for the pair. While they remain outstanding, Police are following strong leads.
Local radio station MFM Te Reo o Te Iwi said shots were reportedly heard outside the ANZ bank on Rora St. An eyewitness told that the robbers were dropping money as they fled the bank. They added that a lady, who did not realise it had been robbed, picked it up and called out to them they had dropped their money.
Waikato West Investigations Manager Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson said, “Te Kuiti is a fantastic, close-knit community that does not tolerate things like this. We know that some people may have seen the pair on the motorbike either before or after the robbery and we want them to reach out to Police.”
In response to yesterday’s events, the community has organised a meeting today and Police will be attending. Te Kūiti is 75km south of Hamilton. Residents said the township is closely knit and known as the shearing capital of the country. The witnesses were upset and shaken by such an occurrence in their community.
Aggravated robbery is a horrible crime that inflicts fear and trauma on innocent people and we understand that a lot of people will be concerned.
“Police are working incredibly hard to locate these offenders and get them off our streets. We have asked anyone with information that may assist us to contact us immediately,” said Sergeant Patterson.
Even if you think it is insignificant, it could be the piece of the puzzle that allows us to close the net on these offenders.
You can contact the Police on 105, or online at 105.police.govt.nz, quoting file number 230516/7295.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
