Three people have been arrested after an Auckland jewellery store was robbed in a dramatic heist that resulted in a chase outside a popular shopping mall.

Images from the scene show Westfield St Lukes filled with smoke after a fog cannon was activated and video shows a car fleeing the area after the robbery.

Police told the Herald they responded to reports at 3.30pm of two men entering a jewellery store inside the mall and smashing counters with tools, running off with jewellery.

“Those involved were then reportedly seen handing some stolen items to occupants of a Mazda vehicle before fleeing the area in a Subaru vehicle.”

Police said they then received a report of a Subaru vehicle abandoned on Lyon Ave and two men running from it towards St Lukes Rd.

Jewellery and trays were found in the Subaru, which was towed for examination. Police are still trying to locate these two men.

The Mazda was caught after reports of a vehicle being driven erratically on Morningside Drive and St Lukes Rd, and was stopped by police at Mt Smart Rd.

“Three people were found in the vehicle and arrested, along with stolen clothing, and some pieces of stolen jewellery believed to be from the earlier robbery.”

Police are considering charges for the trio, aged between 17 and 19.

Fog blanketed Westfield St Lukes mall in Auckland after a robbery which resulted in three people being arrested. Photo / Dev Dixit

An eyewitness told the Herald a group of four stole clothes from a Stirling Sports store to cover their faces before entering the Michael Hill with hammers 20 minutes later.

The witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said the group smashed “as many [glass] cabinets as they could at once” before triggering the jewellery store’s fog cannons and running out with a small Michael Hill bag.

“I was in my store working and we could just hear the fog cannons go off and a big bang.

“As the fog was going on, everyone just stood around ... mine and [the Stirling worker’s] instincts were to just run after them, get the rego and do what we could.”

He ran after them with a Stirling Sports employee and two security guards, and followed them up the mall and out to the rooftop carpark.

Video sent to the Herald shows the eyewitness chasing a white vehicle from the rooftop car park and on to the road, where it swerves to avoid him before racing off.

Stores in the mall immediately locked up, with some taking in nearby customers who the witness described as “standing and staring”, with some elderly bystanders “freaking out”.

A large cloud of smoke rises from the ground floor of Westfield St Lukes after a fog cannon was set off during a raid on a jewellery store. Photo / Dev Dixit

The group was described by the witness as three girls and a boy, all estimated to be between the ages of 16 and 18.

“It was females following what I would call the ringleader, ‘cause he said, ’Just f***in' run‘.”

A photo of the incident shows a large cloud of smoke rising from the mall’s ground floor as nearby shoppers look on.

The Herald has approached mall management for comment.

Michael Hill St Lukes declined to comment, as did Stirling Sports.

Police say they responded to reports that two men had robbed a jewellery store at the mall this afternoon. Photo / Supplied

It comes after Michael Hill International (MHI) said serious crime was affecting several of its New Zealand stores in a May earnings update.

Ram raids have hit multiple MHI stores over the past several years, with repeated offending causing the closure of its Takapuna branch.

Last January, Michael Hill chief executive Daniel Bracken said “security and safeguarding measures remain integral” for the chain.

“We have continued to review our security measures to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect our team and customers.”

- NZ Herald