MASTER MIND.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 181, 1 August 1936, Page 4 (Supplement)

MASTER MIND.

DIAMOND RAIDERS.

SCOTLAND YARD DEFIED. ENGLAND'S PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1. Somewhere in London's underworld England's own public enemy No. I—a man who defies all the efforts of Scotland Yard to capture him—is probably planning yet another of his audacious coups. He is a man with a genius for crime, once the master mind behind the spectacular smash-and-grab raids of the past, and now leader of a gang who have got away with £30,000 worth of diamonds during the last twe months. Ever since the gang's first raid on a jeweller's shop in Streatham, the Flying Squad have been on their trail, but so far they have had to admit defeat. Robberies in Bristol, where they stole a tray of rings worth £4000, in Norwich, Manchester, Birmingham, and then again in London, have followed in swift succession without an arrest having been made. It is understood the menace of these repeated raids on jeweller's shops has becomo so serious that a special conference has been held at the Yard to discuss tlio best means of outwitting the gang. The police realise that withont the genius of the man at the head of the gang it would be smashed. And some of the Yard's most brilliant defectives are now on special duty trying to locate the thieves' headquarters and the garage where it is believed the stolen cars used on their escapades are disguised and repainted.

Only the gang leader knows where he will strike next. It may be in London, Leeds, Cardiff, Newcastle —any of the big provincial cities—but sooner or later he will strike, and then wires will hunij the police radio will work overtime, and the hunt will be up again.

It is obvious from the smoothness with which one coup after another has been successfully landed tiiat they are all most carefully planned.

There is the touch of the artist in every move, from the day the stolen car is "lifted" to the day the stolen gems are "fenced" away. Plan of Campaign. The cars the gang use are never taken from public parking places. They may spend several days spotting one of the particular high-powered type they favour, and then cither steal it from the garage or from outside the house. Once round the corner they fit their own number plates, r.nd license to correspond, before the car is driven to their private garage, where it is skilfully repainted and disguised. Even then the gang do not risk taking it on the road until after any search for it may have died down, and it is during this interval that a suitable jeweller's is selected. The master mind controlling the gang then prepares a plan of the surrounding streets and every move in the crime, from the beginning to the hectic getaway, is rehearsed again and again until the thieves are part-perfect. i The actual crime is simplicity itself. Ono member of the gang, faultlessly dressed, is driven with a companion by a liveried chauffeur to the shop. He asks to see some engagement rings, diverts the assistant's attention, grabs the tray and bolts to the waiting car, while his companion, armed with a lifepreserver, guards the door and covers his exit. ,

The wliole job is over in a few seconds, and the success with which it has been worked again and again is due to the coolness of the thieves and the perfect timing of every separate move. Tlio original car is abandoned a few streets from the scene of the robbery, and the gang are believed to make a leisurely return journey in a fake tradesman's van.