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Auckland boutique food market Farro Fresh has turned to social media to catch an alleged Labour Day thief, hoping the online community has more time to fight petty crime than police.
A video of a man allegedly stealing a bottle of James Bond Special Edition Bollinger 2002, valued at $250, from the Grey Lynn store has been posted on the company's Facebook page.
"This is the first time we have tried using social media for this type of thing," James Draper, Farro's director, said.
The police did not consider the alleged theft a major priority so Draper turned to the internet to track down the alleged thief.
"I don't blame the police, they have got to prioritise, so let's use technology for what they can't get on to," he said.
The video had about 1500 views on YouTube and had been retweeted more than 100 times.
The security footage also includes video of the man with his wife and three children - which has not been published. But Draper says he is prepared to release it online if the alleged thief is not caught.
"It's a good lesson for your young kids," he said.
Turning to social media to fight crimes is part of a growing trend.
In April, an Auckland chef used Twitter and Facebook to try to hunt down a thief who stole his laptop from his Queen Street gelato parlour.
But despite Giapo Gelato having more than 18,000 Facebook fans and more than 7000 Twitter followers, the laptop thief was never found.
In May, Tauhara Paetiki Neighbourhood Policing Team posted a photo of a man wanted for missing an appearance in a Taupo court.
The man, Michael Shane Hagger, taunted police on their Facebook page, responding to the post "hoo rah."
The police said Hagger's actions had drawn more attention to himself and he later handed himself in.