Auckland: New Zealand police have arrested people who tried to enter COVID-19 lockdown-hit Auckland with boots and thousands of dollars filled with KFC chicken.
The arrests come at a time when all restaurants in Auckland, including take-away services, are closed under a strict Level 4 lockdown.
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The men, aged between 23 and 30, were accused of breaking New Zealand’s tough COVID-19 rules.
According to police, the men had traveled from Hamilton, about 75 miles south of Auckland.
A police spokesman told the BBC that officers arrested him after seeing a suspicious-looking vehicle passing on a gravel road on the outskirts of the city.
“Seeing the police car, the vehicle made a U-turn and was trying to escape from the police,” he said, adding that “the vehicle was searched and the police found cash, empty ounce bags and large quantities of recovered simultaneously.”
Police officers also seized NZ$100,000 (US$70,000) in cash from those arrested.
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However, it is not clear whether those arrested intended to sell the food or if they were hoping to use it as a distraction, the BBC reported.
According to police photographs, four large bags containing at least three buckets of chicken, about 10 cups of coleslaw, a large package of fries and other KFC items were seized from the arrested men.
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