CITY OF GANGSTERS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 59, 10 March 1945, Page 5

CITY OF GANGSTERS

Huge Black Market In Sydney OVER-SUPPLY OP LIQUOR Rec. 9.30. CANBERRA, this day. Sydney, through its huge black marketing operations, was becoming a city of gangsters, said the deputyLeader of the Opposition, Mr. E. J. Harrison, in the House of Representatives. In recent months there had been a number of violent deaths by shooting, by "taking people for rides" and by assaults. They had been connected with black marketing. Mr. Harrison claimed that bottled beer and other liquor was being brought to Sydney from country centres, hidden*, on trucks under farm produce. He said that many country towns where there had formerly been concentrations of troops had an over-supply of liquor which was going to the black market. ... .. At Tamworth in 1942 there were between 4000 and 5000 troops. To-day there were about 1000 in a convalescent hospital, but the beer quota remained, altnough the Army had asked the Minister of Customs to review it. . . At Berrima an Increased quota was granted because of an influx of industrial workers. Subsequently they had departed, but when the Minister was asked to revise the quota he directed that it remain until further notice. Another source of supply, Mr. Harrison said, was from brewery carters, who bought back beer from hotelkeepers at the standard pricewithout even unloading it and resold it to the black market.