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• A South Auckland sergeant caught youths fleeing with stolen goods from a mall.
• The sergeant’s quick actions recovered $2500 in clothing and $300 in cosmetics.
• The group of children, aged 10 to 15, were apprehended and referred to Youth Aid.

A quick-thinking South Auckland sergeant with even quicker feet managed to catch up to a group of youths as they tried to flee with stolen goods from a mall.

The sergeant parked his car before chasing down the children, aged between 10 and 15, and following them on to a bus.

Counties Manukau area prevention manager Inspector Warrick Adkin said the sergeant was able to stop the youngsters from getting away with thousands of dollars in products.

He said the on-duty sergeant was conducting prevention patrols in the Manukau Westfield carpark when the group of children ran past with armfuls of clothing.

Mall security and others were on their heels but not as quickly as the sergeant, who parked his patrol car and joined the chase.

The group boarded a stationary bus in hopes of hiding out there but the sergeant was only steps away.

“Our sergeant has boarded the bus right after them and managed to herd eight or so into the back, preventing their escape.”

He was able to keep them contained to the bus until back-up arrived.

Adkin said the sergeant’s “quick thinking and an impressive running pace” meant $2500 worth of clothing, and about $300 worth of cosmetics from various retailers were able to be recovered and returned to the stores.

All of the youngsters were apprehended and referred to Youth Aid.