'I've been getting nightmares': Auckland vape store ransacked twice in one week

The owner of an Auckland vape store has suffered nightmares and panic attacks after the store was ransacked twice in one week - and he said lockdown is preventing him from improving security.

"It was crazy last night. I can't count the number of times I woke up, looking at the [CCTV] cameras, just for nothing," Naresh told the Herald.

"You ... find it's depressing when you're trying to do your best to support the community, to make a living off it, do your best to everyone around you."

Naresh said around $40,000 worth of stock has been stolen across both break-ins on August 26 and 30 at Vapeys Vape Store on Jellicoe Rd in Panmure.

CCTV footage shows two people broke the glass entrance with an object that looked like a hammer, before ransacking the store and taking off with a number of items on Monday. All display cabinets were smashed, leaving shards of glass everywhere.

Vapeys Vape Store in Panmure on Jellicoe Rd has been broken into twice within a week. Photo / Supplied

"They planned pretty well. It's not just that they ... happened to break in.

"They go and look for people around. They take stuff, go away and come back a second time and take more stuff, and break stuff along the way."

A group of five people ram-raided the store just four days earlier, filling bags with hundreds of products and stealing cash from the till as well.

"We're looking at close to $40K damage to everything. The whole shopfront is gone."

But Naresh feels helpless about improving the store's security while Auckland remains in alert level 4.

"The challenging thing is we're expecting [the door] to take two months to fix, so that means the whole shopfront is covered by a wooden board. It's level 4 now so you can't have people come out and fix it. "

The shop entrance cannot be replaced while Auckland remains in alert level 4. Photo / Supplied

Naresh said he wants to install a metal roller door but can't during lockdown. He's spoken to other tenants in the area about chipping in to pay for a security guard to patrol the area.

Naresh has even been considering closing the Panmure branch altogether, just months after it first opened.

But he wants to keep the business open for his customer base who have quit smoking.

"This business is very close to my heart. I've had people in my family who have been smoking, and we've had serious issue due to that.

"I started with one branch, we've got six branches now and we've provided opportunities, and more than 80 percent are New Zealand citizens and residents.

"We are doing all this to help, and when something like this happens to you, it's really hard."

Vapeys Vape Store have been delivering online orders during lockdown, but he said he's losing $2-3000 every day at the Panmure site.

Posted by Vapeys NZ on Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Staff have been assisting police with their investigations into both robberies.

Police say it's too early to speculate as to whether the incidents are linked, but they have recovered a vehicle of interest in relation to the second break-in.

Anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the area or with information that may be able to assist police enquiries is urged to contact 105, quoting file number 210831/3814 .

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Vapeys Vape Store has three stores on the North Shore - in Devonport, Albany and Silverdale.

The Panmure branch was the first one opened in East Auckland.