Police take 8yo boy home after alleged Darwin city hotel hold-up

Police allege the boys were wearing balaclavas when they entered the Zambrero restaurant yesterday morning. (ABC News: Randi Dahnial)

Northern Territory Police have arrested an 11-year-old boy after he allegedly held up two central Darwin businesses armed with a knife yesterday.

An eight-year-old boy who was allegedly also involved in the hold-up was taken home to a responsible adult.

The 11-year-old will face the youth justice court charged with aggravated robbery while the other boy is under the age of criminal responsibility.

Police have charged an 11-year-old boy with armed robbery after he allegedly held up a Darwin fast-food restaurant and hotel at knifepoint yesterday, accompanied by another boy aged just eight.

A Northern Territory Police spokesperson said the pair were wearing balaclavas when they entered the Zambrero restaurant on Mitchell Street in the central business district about 11:50am.

Police allege one of the boys then pulled a knife on a worker and demanded money from the cash register before the staff member "retreated to safety".

The Metro Hotel on Cavenagh Street where the boys allegedly threatened a staff member with a knife. (ABC News: Randi Dahnial)

"It is alleged the [boys] then attended a hotel on Cavenagh Street where they threatened a staff member with the knife and attempted to rummage through the reception desk before fleeing on foot," the spokesperson said.

The older boy was remanded in custody and charged with aggravated robbery, while the eight-year-old was taken home and placed into the care of an adult.

Less than two hours before the alleged hold ups, investigators say a northern suburbs man allegedly spotted a 16-year-old boy on a home CCTV camera unlawfully entering his residence on Magdelene Court in Malak.

The spokesperson said the man called police before returning home to confront the boy with some friends, and when the group arrived the boy allegedly armed himself with a knife and began damaging property in the kitchen.

He disarmed the boy with the help of his friends and was allegedly bitten on the chest while attempting to restrain him.

Police say they were kept busy responding to reports of youth crime in Darwin and Palmerston this week. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)

The teenager has been charged with aggravated assault, burglary and property damage.

Just a week earlier, police arrested two 13-year-old boys after five youths allegedly ransacked a Palmerston petrol station.

The spokesperson said the group, aged between nine and 13, raided the Shell service station on the corner of Yarrawonga Road and Roystonea Avenue on September 6.

Two of the boys allegedly ransacked the store, stealing food and drink items before smashing a glass door and accessing the area behind the counter.

Police said one of the group left the shop to round up the four others before the youngest member, aged just nine, threatened a male worker with a pair of scissors.

The ordeal left the man with minor injuries to his hands, wrist and knee.

Investigators allege the group then fled with cigarettes, before police were able to find and arrest two of the 13-year-olds.

One of them, who was on bail at the time, was charged with four offences including aggravated robbery and engaging in violent conduct.

The other boy is facing charges of aggravated robbery and engaging in violent conduct.

Police are continuing to search for the other three boys.

The latest incidents follow a string of reported crimes across the NT allegedly involving more than 20 youths during the past two weeks.

On Friday police charged four teenagers aged between 14 and 17 after they allegedly took two utes on joy-rides spanning hundreds of kilometres across the Top End.

The group allegedly stole the vehicles from the Palmerston suburbs of Gunn and Zuccoli before stealing more than 100 litres of diesel from service stations in Berrimah and Coolalinga.

A driver and passenger in one of the utes were arrested about 92km away near Adelaide River after the vehicle was allegedly spotted reaching speeds of up to 150km/h.

Police in Alice Springs say two 17-year-olds were charged last week for a range of crimes. (ABC News: Bridget Judd)

About two hours later, police tracked down the second ute and arrested a 16-year-old and 17-year-old at Daly River after they earlier abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.

Last week a 17-year-old boy was charged with aggravated burglary, property damage and theft in Alice Springs after allegedly ransacking a bar and running away with cash and alcohol in July.

Earlier this month a 17-year-old girl was charged with aggravated assault after she allegedly tried to steal a car from a home on Gnoilya Street in The Gap.

In Tennant Creek a 16-year-old by was charged with aggravated assault over an alleged domestic violence attack while armed with a blunt weapon.