Four men charged with a series of aggravated robberies in Hamilton during the past four months have appeared in court.
The men, two aged 19 and two aged 21, face a total of 28 charges of aggravated robbery and have been remanded in custody without plea to reappear in court on Tuesday.
The men, members of a street gang, were arrested after police raided four Hamilton addresses on Sunday.
Police allege the men have been responsible for at least 11 aggravated robberies of service stations and liquor stores since May.
The most recent was at the weekend when a Challenge petrol station attendant was robbed of $7,000.
Meanwhile, police in Christchurch say two banks were robbed in Christchurch on Monday.
Police say it is too early to tell if the bank hold-ups are connected.
At the ANZ bank in Cathedral Square, a man presented a note to a teller demanding money at 2pm. Half an hour later, a man demanded money from a teller at a Westpac branch in Riccarton Road.
Still in Christchurch, three people have been arrested after a police pursuit through the city's eastern suburbs.
Police say the pursuit lasted only a few minutes, and the car being chased crashed into another vehicle.
They say there were no injuries.
