BAIL REFUSED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVIII, Issue 10944, 16 June 1927, Page 6

BAIL REFUSED

ALLEGED THEFT OF £IO,OOO. WELLINGTON, June 15. Joseph Foster, who was arrested at Hamilton recently on a charge of the theft of £IO,OOO, the property ot the British Government (four registered parcels of Treasury notes which were being carried on the Cardiff-London mail on February 22) appeared before Mr Biddell, S.M. to-day. An alternative charge was preferred of receiving the money knowing.it to have been dishonestly obtained. Accused was remanded till June 26. Mr Wilford applied for bail, saying that he understood that there would he other rerriands till warrants and documents arrived from the Homeland. The police opposed the application and hail was refused, the Magistrate saying that another application could bo made next week.

Foui' registered packages containing Treasury notes to the value of £IO,OOO were among the contents of a mail-bag which was stolen in transit between Cardiff and London on the evening ot February 2. The Treasury notes were being sent by Lloyds Bank, Cardiff to the head office of the bank in London. The missing bag was despatched by the Great Western dining-car express for London which left Cardiff at 6.3/ p m This train was timed to arrive at iPaddingtoh at 9.40 p.m. The bag, one of a heap of 21, was placed in the mail van of the train at Cardiff station by postal officials. The van was locked, and was opened for a few minutes only at Klewport and Swindon, when other mails were added to the pile. The. onlv other stop between Cardiff and London was at Reading, but no mails were taken on there, and the van was therefore not opened at Reading. On the arrival of the train at Paddington the bag in question was missing. The missing bag was one of what are known as "final" bags, which are tied with pink labels tov distinguish them. Postal officials say there were three of these in the train when it left Cardiff. When the contents of the van were checked,at Paddington and only two pink-label Cardiff bags were found immediate inquiries were telephoned to Cardiff, and meanwhile the train was searched from end to end. The Cardiff officials were emphatic that the bag was placed in the train, and all subsequent inquiries confirmed this statement. The officials inclined to the belief that, the bag went astray or was stolen either at Cardiff or Paddington. It was at those two places that a thief would have the best opportunities.