RAIDED AGAIN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 128, 2 June 1939, Page 8

RAIDED AGAIN.

KAUKAPAKAPA P.O. BURGLARS ATTACK SAFE. EXPLOSION JAMS DOOR. For the secniul time witliin recent months thieves raided tin- Kaukanakapa post olliee Inst night and attacked vhe *nU'. « Inch contained money, r-tnni book- ;ill<l Mimlrv paper-*. Tin , charge of gelignite, which was inserted in tin , keyhole. »n- exploded with a detonator. and completely shattered the lock, but caused tile door to bulge, thereby foiling tlu» safebreakers. who were linahk , <o get the ilnor open. Nothing was stolon from the ollice.

Entrance was gained by breaking a window in the hack of the building. The thieves dragged in from a yard outside a large cart cover used to place over the mailbags and used this to place over the safe in order to inutile the sound of the explosion. The cover wahadly lioleel liy flying fragments of the locking mechanism, which wore also embedded in the oflice furniture. A largely-attended dance was in progress in the hull about 2(><l yards di--tuiit from the Post Office at the time the thieves were working on the safe. The L'or-t Office was left securely locked nt midnight, when the telephone exchange operator finished duty. When the relieving operator arrived at ti o'clock this morning he found that there had boon a burglary. A nearbv resident heard a muffled explosion shortly before 1 o'clock this morning.

The «rti"e was so badly damaged that it is now useless. The' services of an expert locksmith will have to be obtained to open it. This morning the oflice tiinlX was considerably inconvenienced because the many forms, hooks mid documents for business were locked in the .iainined safe. However, ii supply of tfie necessary working material was obtained from Helens ville".