‘You guys definitely want her ass booked’: Texts revealed in Golriz Ghahraman supermarket incident
Monday, 31 March 2025
“You guys definitely want her ass booked,” a Foodstuffs’ security worker said to police about former MP Golriz Ghahraman. “We want her done too.”
The comments in question were sent as text messages to police in the 10 days after Ghahraman was stopped and questioned at the Pak’n Save store in Royal Oak, Auckland, where she was accused of shoplifting.
The messages were released to the NZ Herald under the Official Information Act.
The incident was alleged to have occurred at the Pak N Save in Royal Oak on October 12 and was reported to police for investigation electronically using the Auror platform, which allows retailers to report alleged instances of theft.
No charges were laid.
According to the Herald, at the point she was questioned, Ghahraman was still in the store and had not approached the checkout.
Ghahraman was seen putting groceries into a tote bag which was sitting in a trolley.
It is understood she was approached by a staff member who had been watching her on CCTV and asked to leave the shop.
The Post reported Ghahraman’s response was that she was still shopping and wanted to pay for the groceries. She then left.
In an OIA request sent to the Herald, documents showed Detective Senior Sergeant Ashley Matthews was contact via text message 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 question 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 face.
Then, about 10 days after the original allegation, the security worker apologised for not being able to respond quickly to Matthews’ requests.
“We want her done too,” the guard wrote.
The OIA response revealed the police did not charge Ghahraman as there was no “public interest” in doing so.
Ghahraman was convicted of shoplifting $8367 worth of goods from three different clothing stores in Ponsonby, Newmarket and Wellington last year.
She resigned from the Green Party shortly after the allegations came to light in January 2024.
Ghahraman unsuccessfully applied for a discharge without conviction due to her being in a mental health crisis at the time of her offending, linked to her receiving regular threats and abuse while she was an MP.
A medical report provided to the court said she had been diagnosed with complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Prolonged Duress Stress Disorder.
Despite Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock agreeing that Ghahraman had received “abhorrent” online abuse, Judge June Jelas convicted her of shoplifting and ordered her to pay a fine of $1600 and $260 in court costs.