The Grey Lynn ram-raid-robbery in the early hours of Tuesday, September 18 says much about the state of mind of the young offenders, who apparent seem to cross any line for small bucks or cigarettes and alcohol according to the store-owner.

The owner of the dairy store Shantilal Prema, an insurance broker who has owned the superette for 34-years in the Grey Lynn area says that the ram-raid at around 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning was done by the offenders merely for ‘fun’.

On Tuesday morning, four offenders came in three cars, with one car ramming into the store (Williamson Avenue Superette in Grey Lynn) so as to facilitate their entry into the shop.

The two other cars waited outside, with engine on, for the offenders to return with their opportunistic cache in the shop, which according to the owner Mr Prema was worth of around $250 - $300.

“I came late from work and after freshening up around 5 a.m. at my house which is located just behind the store and was about to go to bed when I had a loud noise and alarm sounds of the store going up.

“I instantly checked the live CCTV footage on my device and saw few men in the store after breaking the front entrance glass door of my dairy shop and products lying on the floor,” Mr Prema told The Indian Weekender.

Mr Prema added that he instantly came to the store after the alarm sound went off, which also alerted the neighbours who witnessed the robbery from their premises.

“I first came to the rear of the door and then went to the front only to find the front side of the store smashed and the offenders had run away with the wine bottles in two other cars waiting for them. The whole space became a huge mess, aluminium frame of the door dismantled, glasses shattered all over and racks of stock thrown off to the ground,” Mr Prema added.

“My neighbour who wakes up early in the morning witnessed the incident and said that the offenders after ramming their car to the door laughed and entered the store and within fifteen seconds ran away from the scene of the crime as if it was just a casual fun activity.

“Robbing is fun for them, and we suffer the trauma and losses of thousands of dollars as a result,” Mr Prema further added.

Mr Prema says he was worried about such incident ever since a dairy owner in the neighbourhood was robbed and stabbed earlier in June this year.

“My wife stays at the store, and I had a staff who looked after the store completely before. We open at 8 a.m. and close by 6 p.m., but the fear of being attacked out of the blue is constant. We work in so much fear, and you never know if someone comes in and hurt your family,” he said.

Police arrived at the scene soon after reporting, and the forensics came in the afternoon to collect any evidence from the scene.

Mr Prema vividly recollected two incidences of robbery attempt last year. Few offenders entered the shop with machetes in broad daylight demanded tobacco and cash. The store manager somehow managed to lock himself in the storeroom at the rear of the shop when one of the offenders agitatedly hit the wall of the storeroom thrice leaving sharp dents on the wall.

“Another incident happened in April when an offender entered and asked for tobacco, and my five-year-old grandson was near the counter at the time. The offender aggressively pushed my grandson who fell on the ground and then ran away from the shop. After that incident I stopped bringing my children to the shop,” he added. 

The police is investigating the ram-raid offence and the offenders are still at large. More to come.