GANG AT WORK ?

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 108, 10 May 1939, Page 12

GANG AT WORK ?

JEWEL THIEVES. VALUABLE HAULS. AUCKLAND ROBBERIES. RINGS WORTH £375 STOLEN. Valuable prizes have been won by jewel thieves operating in several towns in New Zealand during the last few weeks. Auckland and Wellington have been the cities to receive special attention from what are believed to be members of a gang wia not long ago arrived in the Dominion.

Recently diamond rings to the value of nearly £400 were stolen from two jewellery estalishments in Auckland. while what appears to have been a de- | liberate attempt to rob another shop I was frustrated by the coolness of the jeweller. He showed great presence of mind, being content to allow one man to walk out of his shop with a chiming clock under his coat rather than give chase, thus leaving the shop at the mercy of a "customer" who entered with the thi2f. A few incidents may serve to illustrate the versatility of the thieves. About five weeks ago, on a particularly busy Friday night, a pad of 12 diamond rings, consisting of solitaires and two stone rings, was stolen from a city jewellery shop. The total value of the jewellery was £175. The assistants in the shop were busy serving customers. One had occasion to go to a cabinet.and get a pad of diamond lings. In doing so he left the door open —but only for a few moments. Even this short period gave a thief time to slip in between two' cabinets and snatch a diamond-studded pad, slip it inside his coat, and walk out. Nothing more was heard of the missing rings. None were pledged at any city pawn shop. Reports of further jewel thefts from Wellington shops were made to the police a fortnight ago. Several hundred pounds worth of gems and rings were stolen from under the very eyes of those in the shops. In one case the thieves were so expert that they succeeded in substituting faked, paste stones for genuine diamonds set in rings which they handled on top of the counter.; From one shop alone, diamonds an<j diamond rings worth £-200 were stolen. Perhaps it is only a coincidence that in most of the shops where robberies have been carried out two well-dressed men have been observed to enter and to leave shortly before the discovery of the thefts. Jeweller's Story. Two such men walked into another city jeweller's shop about 7.15 on the evening of Friday, April 28. But let the jeweller tell the story himself. "As I entered the shop from my workroom I was smoking . a cigarette," he told a "Star" reporter, "and I saw two men enter together. One stood at the glass counter just inside the door, the ; other walking towards a showcase near the partition which divide* the shop from my workroom. The man at the ; counter said he wanted to see a signet ring which was one of an assortment 1 of valuable rings «n a display box in t the window. "The other man whom I was serving examined some rings and selected one which he said he intended giving his brother for a birthday preeent. When this man persisted in asking me to take the size, I became more than suspicious. It occurred to me that he probably thoiight I would have to leave the shop to obtain the ring tester. "Without taking my eyes off the box of rings on the counter, I reached out and picked up the ring tester from a hlielf behind me. As we discussed the ring, I noticed that the other man was edging towards the door, hie back still being toward me. I then saw him with a fairly large chiming clock under his coat. . "Turning to the other man, I said. 'What has your friend got under his coat? . Without even bothering to turn round he said to me, 'What did he take ? F'/a not my friend. , "The maiij, with the chiming eloek under his aim then wheeled round and walked quiekly out of the shop, to be lost in the big crowd watching the military procession going up Queen Street," continued the jeweller. "I was on my own in the shop at the time and I wasn't going to give chase, leaving the other man alone in the shop with hunidreds of pounds' worth of jewellery* in the window. I never even left imposition behind the counter. "I wasn't going to walk around towards the door and perhaps get knocked down or ftave pepper thrown in my eyee by the other man—if he happened to be what I think he was—a confrere of the thief. Just then two customers entered the shop, whereupon the man said he would 'come back on Monday , and left. "The chiming clock!— Oh, yes, that wae worth £6 10/. I think I got out of it lightly, only losing that much. Two Mondays have gone by and I'm still waiting for my customers to return." Rings Worth <?oo Stolen. Last Thursday afternoon 17 diamond rings valued at £200 were stolen from a Queen Street jeweller's shop. None has so far been recovered. At the time of the theft the manager of the shop wae engaged in re-dressing the windows. fins, he explained, is a job which is only carried out every three months or so. He chose Thursday afternoon because it was a slack day. About 4?0 p.m. two men entered, one asking to see some women's dressing sets. Theee he wae shown at the far end of the shop. The other man stood near a glass display counter near the front window On this counter were two upright pads of diamond rings. They were covered with silk, which is used on the glass shelves in the window. Although not visible from the interior of the shop they could be seen from the front window and through the polished wooden doors lead ing to the window. While one man was inspecting the dressing sets, a young woman assistant approached the other man. Could she ehow him anything? "No, thanks, I'm re S lv Walting f ° r my friend '" was the He did not have to wait verv lonA few minutes later the "friend" departed without making a purchase. Not long after the two men had left the simp the jeweller was shocked to find that a whole pad of diamond rings £200 worth, retail price, had vanished. Of course, it may be yet another coincidence that two men had visited his shop, and then again it may not.