After being robbed, Indian family in Auckland too traumatised to relax

Fear has robbed an Auckland Indian family of enjoying their home.

Nasir Mirza says his wife Mairajm got up from watching the rugby game to discover the bedroom door locked in September 2009.

"When she tried to open it, she found it was jammed. Immediately she screamed 'we've been robbed'."

Mirza knew she had been robbed before seeing anything missing because a community constable had warned of a similar "modus operandi" by burglars.

"One of the boys ran around the house to see if someone was there," says her distraught husband.

He added: "We were all running in different directions. At first we could not see anything amiss until I discovered the dressing table drawer on the lawn."

Since then, they have barricaded themselves in with deadbolts, light sensors and elaborate alarms covering individual rooms.

The beefed-up security is the result of an audacious burglary, just one wall away from where the family sat watching a big rugby match.

According to The Aucklander, the brazen grab has been one of the most harrowing experiences for the Mirza family.

So much so that now they tread carefully around the house in fear of what might be lurking behind the curtains.

Police are now issuing strong warnings to Auckland's Asian community.

South East Asian liaison officer constable Gurpreet Arora has suggested that Asian families consider removing items identifying their ethnicity from outside their homes, such as flags from their homelands.

"Religious signs, personalised plates on vehicles, putting lights on the outside of the house at night on occasions like Diwali, are some of the signs to burglars,” Arora said, adding that the criminal fraternity is well aware jewellery is kept by many Indian families in the master bedroom.