Quick thinking and local knowledge by Hamilton Police have helped recover more than $1700 worth of stolen groceries in the city this morning.

Members of the Hamilton Retail Crime Team were conducting enquiries at commerical premises when a call came in regarding a shoplifting incident at another commercial premises.

Staff were verbally abused when they tried to prevent a woman from stealing a large trolley of groceries.

Members of the Retail Crime Team and a Police Dog Team were fast on the scene, but the offender had already taken off in her vehicle with all the groceries.

With details from the public, the team used local knowledge and gut instinct to head to a Pukete address where they found a vehicle parked at an address still full of the stolen groceries. The offender was found in the house.

A 29-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with shoplifting and will appear in court in early January.

The groceries were returned to a very grateful team.

Detective Inspector Stephen Ambler says this was great work by the retail crime team who continue to act with urgency around shoplifting events across Hamilton and the Waikato.

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