Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Four men have been arrested after a "violent" armed home invasion in West Auckland and fleeing police for 100 kilometres into Northland.
Police said officers were called to a property in the suburb of Massey at about 12.30am on Friday, duringf which three men, all carrying firearms, allegedly forced their way inside.
They then proceeded to threaten a male occupant before he was assaulted.
The man was later treated by ambulance staff for minor injuries.
No firearms were discharged during the incident.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Alfred said the group were later found driving north on the Northwestern Motorway.
"Several police units signalled for the driver to stop, but he did not, and took off at speed," he said.
"We decided not to pursue due to the manner of driving but tracked the vehicle north along State Highway 1 with the help of the police eagle helicopter."
The front tyres of their car were spiked near Oteha Valley but the driver continued to drive at dangerous speeds.
"As the vehicle passed Moir Hill, the occupants threw out several boxes, bags, and other items from the vehicle onto the Puhoi to Moir Northern Motorway, which police had closed to other motorists," Zhou said.
"We were able to successfully spike the remaining front tyre on the vehicle, but the driver has continued, driving on rims."
All four men were arrested after their car came to a stop at about 2.20am near Kaiwaka.
"Thankfully no one else was injured during the incident, which played out over almost 100km," Zhou said.
Police said charges are being "considered" for all four offenders.
