£1400 BURGLARY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 224, 21 September 1934, Page 8

£1400 BURGLARY.

GOLD JEWELLERY.

DARING CRIMINALS.

IN KARANGAHAPE ROAD.

SHOP ENTERED FROM ROOF,

The latest of a serioa of burglaries committed at the premises of business firms in the city, particularly in the Jvarangahapc Road area, during the last two months, was carried out la.st night, when the jewellery warehouse of Mr. James Pascoe, almost alongside George Court's, was entered, and jewellery to tho value of £1400 was stolen. This is by far the most serious crime of its kind committed in Auckland for many years. It was aleo the most daring, and there is abundant evidence to show that it was carefully planned. Gaining entrance by a manhole on the roof, t'.ie burglars ransacked the premises below and left with gold jewellery which must have made a bulky swag. Mr. Pascoe's premises comprise the largest and most modern of their type in Auckland. Built in concrete, they consist of two storeys fronting Karangampe Road, but of three storeys at the back, wiiieh is reached via a lane running oft Cross Street. The building is sand\*fched in between Eendell's and W. Peet rtnd Son, grocers. In She construction of tli3 warehouse, which is over 100 ft in length and 35ft wide, with two large " showrooms on each floor and numerous storerooms, workshops, offices and other" rooms, special precautions were taken to make it burglar proof. Every window, whether it fronts the light-well or side walls, is heavily barred, while a burglarproof door is of solid steel, fitted with three large steel bolts on the inside of the shop. Doors at Back Found Ajar. But the modern "eat burglar" cares little for barred windows and doors of steel, preferring to scale down-pipes, even to a great height, and enter buildings by skylights or manholes. Such was the case at Pascoe's last night. The first suspicion that a burglary had been carried out was gained by a constabia shortly before midnight, when he found that the large double doors leading from the,lane to the storeroom in the basement were ajar.. Other . polico wen; called and examined the premises, and Mr. James Pascoe, the head of the firm, arrived shortly before 1 a.m. * It did not take long to discover how the burglars had entered the burglarproof .premises. The steel covering placed securely on a riianhole on the roof of the building was found to be dislodged, the broken concrete edges having been chipped away toy a jemmy. The burglars had then lowered themselves into the jewellery workroom on the top floor. They were able to descend by the stairs through the top showroom to the bottom, floor without finding- it necessary to attempt to enter through the steel door separating the storeroom from the main shop. It was by that' door, which can only be opened from the inside of the shop, that they made their exit. It had never occurred to Mr Paecoe that burglars would climb on t the roof/of his ibuilding , land' force the steel manhole out- of its position. And so all the burglar-proof devices fitted below meant nothing. After ripping open many packets containing repair jobs, and stealing the gold watches and other gold articles, the thieves ransacked the offices on.tho top floor, stealing small sums of petty.cash. Then they went down to the main showroom and shop on the- ground floor. Near the main door fronting Karangahape Road, and working under the light of tie night lamps \vhieh are always left burning in the Vhop, the. thieves completely cleaned out the valuable stock'of gold watches, gold rings, diamond rings, gold studs, bangies, sleeve links, pendants and bracelets from two glass display cases. Fortunately, the most •valuable stock was placed in the ■strongroom last night. "Like a, Fortress.". fit is the most daring piece of work I have ever heard of," said Mr. Pascoe this morning. "The burglars must have been on my premises for a long time last night; judging by the large amount of stock they removed! They also could discriminate between solid gold' and rolled gold; they did not worry about anything, but good gold. I was amazed when, the '■ police telephoned me just before 1 , q'elock this morning, for the place was. built like a fortress, and I never thought anyone could get ' in. They even stole the gold they found on the work benches. They were after gold and nothing else." The jewellery, attached to velvet pads for display purposes, was torn from the pads, the latter being left strewn about the floor behind the counters. All the valuable gold watches and expanding wrist watches, including one worth £Z2 10/, were taken,. the thieves leaving rolled- gold and silver jewellery on the floor. Not one signet ring was left in stock. Safes Not' Touched. It seems plain that the thieves wanted no thing, but gold or cash. To have stolen" other larger articles of jewellery and silverware from the . warehouse would lave increased the size of their swag and made it more difficult to get it sefely off the premises without detection. Then, again, gold can .be melted and more readily sold, and not nearly so easily identifiable as other classes of goods.,. ■ ■-~.. : • , No attempts were made to force open the strong room or the numerous safes on the premises.. Detectives, were early on the •scene this morning and carried out a long and careful investigation. It is believed \\ that the Tjurglars ascended by a pipe ]- ft the Tjaek of Rendell's, climbed on to e the roof, walked about 150 feet on the \ iron rooftops, scaled the wall of Pas- i coe's, and dropped over tho parapet on r to the flat roof, where they were able to work and remove the iron manhole u without much chance o£ being observed.