Black market for cigarettes fuels robberies in CanterburyIAIN MCGREGOR/FAIRFAXNZ Kendal Food Centre owner Ning Huang was robbed by three offenders for cigarettes. A lucrative black market for cigarettes is fuelling an increase in armed robberies, with criminals targeting dairies and stealing tobacco products to order. CHRISTCHURCH POLICE/FACEBOOK A man threatened a worker with an axe during one of two dairy hold-ups in a day in Christchurch. John Kirk-Anderson Opawa Discounter dairy owner Kamlesh Patel and his family fought off a robber armed with a stun gun on July 30. Retail NZ spokesman Greg Harford said robberies were an "ongoing issue nationally" and some people were "getting hurt and feeling threatened".

Source: Stuff August 30, 2016 07:46 UTC