A brazen burglar has been forced to rethink his craft after being caught allegedly stealing a dozen buckets of paint from a Pukekohe store.

At about 4.30pm on 8 July a group of people dressed in painting overalls entered a store in Wrightson Way claiming to collect the paint for a job in Tuakau.

Counties Manukau South Senior Sergeant MJ Riddle says the alleged thieves filled a vehicle with a dozen 10 litre buckets of paint, worth more than $4000, before leaving without paying.

“The store has reported the incident to Police and also shared information on their social media accounts.

“Members of the local community have assisted in helping to identify one of the people in the images.”

Senior Sergeant Riddle says Police executed a search warrant at the suspects address yesterday, however he was not present.

“Police followed the paint trail and headed to his girlfriend’s address nearby in Mount Wellington.

“Upon seeing Police, he immediately fled and after a short foot chase he was taken into custody without incident.

“The Pukekohe store is managed by a young local family who are finding it hard enough in the current economic climate financially without this type of behaviour.

“We’re pleased we could assist in locating and holding this offender to account for this brazen crime, and we are following positive lines of enquiry to locate the others involved.

“We continue to encourage members of the public to report suspicious behaviour in and around shops and malls to a member of staff, security, or Police to help prevent retail theft.”

People can report offending as it is occurring by calling 111, or to report matters after the fact by calling 105.

Reports can also be made online by going to https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 or anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A 40-year-old man charged with shoplifting will appear in Manukau District Court today.

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