I.D.B.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 7, 9 January 1926, Page 13

1.D.8.

SCIENTIFIC CRIMINALS. AN EXCITING OCCUPATION. (By W. J. MAKIN.) In tlie glaring sunshine of an African afternoon, I stood and watched a line of naked Kaffirs file past a little white man in dirty white ducks. These naked Kaffirs shuffled slowly by a huge, greyish-green dump which was the slag heap of one of the -world's biggest diamond mines in Kimberley. As they came forward, th« little man in dirty white ducks seized them, ran his hands over their shining black bodies, peered into their mouths, lifted up their arms so that the armpits were exposed, and finally bent down to examine their naked feet in the dust. "What is it?" I asked. "A doctor's examination?" "I. D. 8.," was * the laconic reply. "The native workers are being searched to see that they don't carry any diamonds away from the mine." I. D. 8., or illicit diamond buying, is the curse of the diamond fields. It is one of the most difficult criminal practices to prevent in the whole world-. The African native knows that if by black cunning he can secrete a diamond and bring it safely through the sharp scrutiny of the mine officials, that there are dozens of white men outside the mine compounds who will be only too ready to purchase the stone.These white men, or illicit diamond buyers, will pay fIOO to a native for a stone. To the native who has no real knowledge of the value of diamonds, this is a large sum. It means the power to purchase much tobacco, brown boots, kay socks and ties as worn by the whites ! and maybe a wife or two in his native kraal. The illicit diamond buyer can | make as much as £300 or £400 on such 'stones. It is one of the most profitable 'criminal adventures in the world, but also one of the most difficult. For in South Africa there is a special detective force that is concerned solely with illicit diamond buying. The diamond mines have their own big staff of watchers and private detectives. The penalty for this crime is a severe one. In the Cape it ranks next to murder in importance. Many Chances to Steal. Yet, despite these precautions, despite these severe penalties, the practice of I. D. B. continues. In the multifarious workings of the diamond mines at Kimberley, opportunities of filching and disposing of diamonds are many. The sharpest oversight can scarcely prevent nimble-fingered workers from slyly secreting tiny crystals in picking over the concentrates on the sorting tables or in handling the deposit in the rockers and puddling pans. And when the native workers are free from the mines and roaming about in their compounds, ,it is easy enough for them to dispose of I a stone secretly while apparently hagI gling with a white man over the pur- ' chase of a hat or a blanket. The detectives of the diamond department have to be constantly fighting the resourceful methods of some c%* the cleverest criminals. They employ natives in their service, known as "trap boys." These natives move' freely about the compounds, talking, laughing and smok- ' ing, always scouting for information concerning those who illicitly dabble in diamonds and evade detection. Often elaborate plots have to be conIceived to bring the offenders within the ; meshes of the net. Detectives renting a special house, have been known to lie in wait perhaps for seventy-two hours at a spell within a dirty roof having the atmosphere, of a charnel house, until the transaction has heen completed and witnessed from above. The usual method is for the "trap boy" to bring the unsuspecting purchaser into the house, conclude the deal, and then, immediately it is over, the police will rush from their place of hiding and secure their victim in possession of the stones. Sometimes the criminal cheats them. Once he realises that he is caught, he may flick the gems away. Sometimes he swallows them and the police evidence is lost. The diamond detectives are always on the alert, however, and from the time the illicit buyer enters the room, he is watched as carefully as a terrier will eye a rat. It was not so very long ago that Kimberley and the whole of South Africa was roused by sensational disclosures concerning a gang whose daring operations eclipsed all others known in the history of I. D. B. The detectives learned of the existence of this gang through one of the number whispering its secrets. I This man was induced to betray his companions for the motive of revenge. He had reason to believe that a certain raid made by the police was the result of the treachery of one of the leading members of the gang, Whom we will call "Crab." He determined to be revenged on "Crab," and went to the police with his story of the gang's activities. "Crab," who lived in Kimberley, always managed to elude the detectives. It was impossible to find a single diamond in his possession. He had a number of accomplices whose duty it was to take a train to the Portuguese border and smuggle the packets of diamonds fo the ports. The system used to work well, although "Crab" had once had the mortification of losing over 500 dollars in one deal. This consignment he had deftly packed in a dummy photograph album, which he addressed to the Cape Town Post Office marked, "to be called for," The detectives, prompted by the informer, were quickly at work. A watch was kept for the appearance of the man in the post office to claim the innocent looking* package. By a strange coincidence, however, "Crab" learned of this and rather than take any risk refrained from visiting the post office or making any attempt to recover the diamonds which had thus gone unluckily astray.