"YARD" RAID.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 57, 7 March 1936, Page 4 (Supplement)

"YARD" RAID.

ALLEGED FORGERS. MAN AND WOMEN CHARGED. DRAMATIC COURT STORY. Dramatic evidence of a raid by Scotland Yard officers on a country house, and their alleged discovery of a gang of counterfeiters engaged upon their criminal task, was given in Court at Billericay, Essex. Three people stood in the dock: Gerhardus Johannes Boddeus, 49; his daughter. Grace May Boddeus, 21; and Florence Margaret Gilby, 30; all described as of Norsey Road, Billericay. They were charged with being concerned together in feloniously forging, with intent to defraud, certain Bank of England notes. Deputy - Superintendent Totterdell. of the Essex Constabularly, told the Court that for some time past forged £1 Bank of England notes had been circulated in London and the provinces. "As a result of this," he went on, "with Divisional-Inspector Spatch and DetectiveInspector Stevens, of Scotland Yard, I have made inquiries in this county recently, and the three accused came under our notice. I obtained a warrant to search the house in Noreey Road, Billericay. Wc went to the house at 3.30 p.m., and in a drawing room at the rear we saw the three accused. One man was sitting down at a table, and in front of him was< an artist's stool. He had a jeweller's glass up to his rij;ht eye, and in his right hand he had a pencil—a very small, fine brush. Beside him he had some ink. He was in the act of working on a photographic plate which bore the impression of a £1 Bank of England note. Holding Forged Notes. "The younger woman was standing beside the table, and she actually had in her hand at tlie time of our entry quite a number of £1 Bank of England notes, which, on examination, I found were forged notes. Beside her were a bottle of greei) ink and another pencil. The elder woman stood close to the man, and was overlooking the work that he was doing -on the photographic plate. "We told them that we were police officers, and I read a warrant. We then began a search, and in a box on the drawing room table I found a considerable number, possibly in the region of 40, of iorged £1 notes and photographic plates bearing the impressions of £1 notes, and other implements for the manufacture of Bank of England notes. On the sideboard in the same room Inspector Stevens found a black bag, which also contained a number of forged notes. "The man accompanied me upstairs, and from a wardrobe in the back bedroom took two rolls of paper and handed them to me. This paper is identical with the paper used in the manufacture of these forged notes." The superintendent added that at Billericay Police Station the three accused each made a statment. The three were remanded in custody. Boddeus asked if he might have certan money found in his possession. He was told that his claim to this money would be investigated.