Getaway car hits barrier

Press, 3 August 1976, Page 3

Getaway car hits barrier

PA Auckland The Auckland police are looking for burglars who crashed their getaway car after breaking open the safe in the Alexandra Tavern, Parnell, early yesterday morning.

The car was not immobilised by the accident, and the thieves got away with between $5OOO and $7OOO in cash. The head of the Auckland central division of the Criminal Investigation Branch (Detective Superintendent J. F. Stevenson), said the tavern was broken into at just after 1 a.m. The burglars first tried to get into the building through the roof, and when that failed they re-

moved the frame of an upper window to gain access.

Inside, they kicked in the office door and got to the safe, which was secured with an iron bar and a padlock because the lock was defective. They wrenched off the padlock.

The thieves smashed an alarm bell, but a second warning device went off. In their haste to get away from the area, the burglars getaway car crashed into a traffic barrier, but kept going. Mr Stevenson said a number of residents living nearby had heard the alarm, but each had thought someone else would ring the police.

The police were not informed until 4 a.m.