Four men charged with breaking into an upmarket Darwin restaurant to steal alcohol amid a COVID-19 lockdown will also be slapped with thousands of dollars in fines for not wearing face masks.

Northern Territory police were alerted at 1.20am Tuesday that Pee Wee’s at the Point had been broken into and four men had fled the scene on foot after allegedly stealing the drinks.

Officers arrested the group a short time later. Detectives reviewed CCTV and found the men had breached the NT’s Emergency Declaration, which mandates mask-wearing.

“I’ve confirmed those individuals were not wearing masks and they will be receiving the $5000 fines as part of the charges,” Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker told reporters.

“That’s over $20,000 for those four people who’ve broken into a business that is already being impacted by the lockdown.”

Police charged the men – aged 31, 33, 44 and 58 – with contravening an emergency declaration, unlawful entry and stealing.

The 31-year-old was also charged with property damage, and is scheduled to appear in the Darwin Local Court on September 25.

The 33-year-old had four outstanding warrants, and was remanded to face Darwin Local Court at a later date.

The other two men were granted bail to appear in the Darwin Local Court on September 21.

About 150,000 people in Greater Darwin and Katherine were plunged into a three-day lockdown at midday on Monday after an infected US man travelled from Sydney to Darwin.

AAP