Eight arrested after two separate bottle shops targeted in brazen theft

Eight people including teenagers have been arrested after two separate bottle shop raids at Norwood and North Adelaide.

Liquorland at Norwood has been robbed. Picture: Dasha Havrilenko

Eight people have been arrested after two separate bottle shop raids, with one alleged robbery at Norwood before another one at North Adelaide later in the night.

The first incident at Norwood saw five people, one as young as 15, arrested after an alleged snatch and grab style as the thieves made away with 20 bottles of liquor.

Liquorland at Norwood. Picture: Dasha Havrilenko

Police will allege that a group entered the Liquorland bottle shop off The Parade at 7.30pm on Thursday, and allegedly grabbed about 20 bottles of alcohol before fleeing, police say.Officers quickly responded and found the group of suspects a short distance from the store.

Four females, aged 15, 17, 18, 20, and a 28-year-old man were arrested and charged with aggravated theft.

The members of the group were all bailed and are set to appear in the Adelaide youth and magistrates courts on March 14.

Hours later at about 1am, a group of people allegedly smashed their way into the BWS on O’Connell street in North Adelaide, allegedly grabbing a number of cartons and bottles of liquor before police arrived.

Three of the suspects were arrested, while a fourth remains on the run.

Earlier this month, an Adelaide bottle shop was robbed for the second time in seven days, after a woman allegedly threatened staff with a screwdriver before stealing alcohol.

A staff member was stabbed with scissors during a separate alleged robbery last week, while another worker suffered a dislocated knee that required surgery.

Australian Hotels Association SA branch chief executive Anna Moeller said the industry was experiencing an increase of liquor thefts.

“One of the things that is the most notable about it is the absolute brazenness of these people,” she said.

“If they don’t come equipped with a weapon which they often do, as soon as they pick up a bottle of alcohol they have one in their hand.”

Ms Moeller said outlets might be seen as soft targets for thieves with staff trained to not intervene in the interest of safety.

“Unfortunately these people are taking advantage of that,” she said.

“(But) industry is doing what it can, a lot of them have security guards on, a lot of stuff is now under lock and key, the layout of the store can help.”

She said the government had introduced tougher penalties including up to seven years’ jail but it was up to the courts to enforce those penalties.

Originally published as Eight arrested after two separate bottle shops targeted in brazen theft