Golriz Ghahraman’s supermarket incident: Foodstuffs’ security guard’s texts revealed

Text messages between security worker and police revealed in new document release about Golriz Ghahraman shoplifting claim.Detective says police confirmation of investigation was to ‘name her without naming her’.Blogger who published image of Ghahraman appears to have identified leaker.“You guys definitely want her ass booked,” a Foodstuffs’ security worker said to police about former MP Golriz Ghahraman. “We want her done too.”Those comments were in text messages sent to police in the 10 days after Ghahraman was stopped and questioned at the Pak’n Save store in Royal Oak, Auckland.That incident led to four months of inquiry by police, the leaking of the existence of its investigation, and the subsequent disclosure of a photograph by a Foodstuffs’ security guard of Ghahraman as she was being questioned.The detail emerged in an Official Information Act response from police and gives an insight into police handling of an allegation which ultimately led to no charges being laid.The OIA actually captures the reason for police not laying charges - it decided there was no “public interest” in doing so.Golriz Ghahraman. Photo / Garth Badger.Ghahraman was stopped and questioned at the supermarket on October 12 with less than $150 of shopping in her trolley and a shopping bag. At the point she was questioned, Ghahraman was still in the store and had not approached the checkout.It emerged during Herald inquiries that Ghahraman was facing questions over an item worth $40 which store security did not find in her shopping or shopping bag.Herald inquiries revealed - and were confirmed in the OIA response - that police then provided details of the shoplifting allegation to the High Court which had just heard an appeal in which the ex-MP sought to challenge her sentencing for shoplifting from high-end fashion stores.The OIA documents show the allegation that Ghahraman had faced fresh questioning over shoplifting was first raised with police on January 14.That followed a social media post by Auckland restaurateur Leo Molloy who did not name Ghahraman but offered details suggesting the incident involved her.By the afternoon of January 15, the police commissioner was being briefed.In that briefing, one of the media team staff told Commissioner Richard Chambers and other police hierarchy it was a “no surprises” alert “relating to former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman and shoplifting”.“Since late last year, Auckland City have been investigating a new shoplifting report from an Auckland Pak’n Save (October 2024) involving her. A charge hasn’t been filed yet.“We were approached by some reporters on Tuesday: Some queries named Ghahraman, and as such we won’t be able to respond due to privacy obligations. One has asked to confirm charges for a shoplifting at Pak’n Save Royal Oak. We are looking at responding with: ‘Police can advise a shoplifting complaint is under investigation from late 2024’.”That response was also provided to Detective Senior Sergeant Ashley Matthews, the police officer who had handled the investigation into Ghahraman’s theft from high-end fashion stores.Police OIA documents show the Pak'n Save security guard telling police: 'We want her done too'.On reviewing the initial response, Matthews said he had “no issue” with it, adding: “My only point would be is that it does name her without naming her”.Police usual policy is to make no comment on matters involving an identifiable individual without a privacy waiver. The Herald has previously sought details on police processes on this but has been told there is no written policy.The OIA documents show media queries to Foodstuffs (NI), which owns Pak’n Save, were sent to police with the response the supermarket company intended to send.The OIA response also shows that a police intelligence officer identified the shoplifting allegation while working through automated reporting from the supermarket chain that had been made using the Auror crime surveillance platform.It answers the question as to how police learned of the incident, which it later used in an attempt to bolster its argument against Ghahraman in the High Court.At the time, Foodstuffs said: “For low-level offending like you’ve described, we don’t engage directly with the police”.In the OIA, Detective Inspector Chris Barry - criminal investigations’ manager for the Auckland district - was briefing assistant commissioner Sam Hoyle, saying the supermarket had checked a box that automatically forwarded the incident to police.He confirmed as accurate a set of events that played out two days after the alleged shoplifting when a police intelligence officer “scanned Auror for known shoplifters over the previous few days”.“She did this by scanning photographs and names where they were provided by the retailers to build packages around repeat offenders, identify offers who were otherwise being actively sought by police and to report on trends to local decision-makers etc.”:The case was then assigned to the Auckland police district, he said, where Matthews “took ownership” as “he had already dealt with all interested parties and there was a likelihood of media interest and scrutiny”.Crown Solicitor Alysha “McClintock subsequently filed a memorandum with court. Justice Venning who was presiding over Ms Ghahraman’s appeal of sentence issued a memorandum advising that the police and Crown had acted appropriately in advising the court of the latest allegation.”Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock. Photo / Michael CraigBarry then wrote that he had reviewed the evidence relating to the allegation of shoplifting and “I do not believe the public interest test for prosecution is met in relation to this low-level offending”.Police then sent a press release the following day saying no charges would be laid. It later had to correct the press release to refer to “alleged” shoplifting, rather than stating it was “shoplifting”.The OIA papers show Matthews - who had been handling the case directly - was in text message communication for two months with the security guard who stopped and questioned Ghahraman.In those texts, Matthews seeks additional security imagery from the store, details of floor plans and arranges to take witness statements.In one message, a few days after Ghahraman was stopped and questioned, the security guard responded to a query from Matthews about security footage, saying: “You guys definitely want her ass booked”.The comment is followed by two emojis - one of a laughing face and the other a star-struck happy face.Then, about 10 days after the original allegation, the security worker apologises for not being able to respond quickly to Matthews’ requests.“We want her done too,” the guard wrote.On February 13, the Herald revealed that a photograph of Ghahraman being questioned during the incident had appeared on a blog site.On February 17, Matthews told Foodstuffs that “you already know” but confirmed “the photo in question was originally taken by Pak’n Save contractor (name redacted) on the day of the genesis of these matters”.“As you will be aware – the photo appeared to leak out through a small blog site, of a blogger called (name redacted).”The blog site was that of Auckland car dealer Marc Spring, who also published the photograph of Ghahraman being questioned inside a screenshot of a message thread between the security guard and an unknown third person.Matthews, using screenshots, showed Foodstuffs the identifying features on the screenshot Spring had published which revealed the message thread and leaked photograph had come from the security guard.“You will see that the blogger has not redacted the Facebook messenger thumbnail and it therefore shows the left hand portion of the profile photo of the user who has sent the image and the grey text.”Matthews provided his Foodstuffs’ contact with a screenshot of a Facebook page, saying “you can see the corresponding portions of the circular image above that match those still visible in the mobile version of the blog post”.On February 22, Foodstuffs confirmed it had sacked the security guard over the leaked photograph. It told Ghahraman it became aware of the leak on February 17.A Foodstuffs spokesperson said it did not comment on police investigations but worked closely with police when required.“We take our obligations around data security and privacy seriously and expect the same from our team members and contractors.”Spring said he had no comment to make. Police have been approached for comment.David Fisher is based in Northland and has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, winning multiple journalism awards including being twice named Reporter of the Year and being selected as one of a small number of Wolfson Press Fellows to Wolfson College, Cambridge. He joined the Herald in 2004.