Mangōnui Police have caught up with an offender who allegedly helped himself to cash while being served.

An investigation has been underway in the township following the robbery on 22 August, led by Constable Dean Rowlands.

“The offender queued up to pay for an item at the local Four Square, and when the till opened, he grabbed a handful of cash and ran from the store,” he says.

Police made a number of enquiries into CCTV footage and a vehicle of interest following the incident.

“Early yesterday morning we were knocking on a Kaikohe door, executing a search warrant at the address,” Constable Rowland says.

A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged with robbery and appeared in the Kaitaia District Court.

He has been remanded in custody to reappear on 3 September.

Constable Rowland says: “I’m really pleased for our community that we’ve had this positive outcome and we have held the offender to account for his brazen actions.”