Police Know Robber’s Name

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30213, 19 August 1963, Page 11

Police Know Robber’s Name

(N.Z.P-A -Reuter —Copyright)

LONDON. August 17. Scotland Yard knows the name of the man who led the gang in the mail train robbery 10 days ago, the ‘'News Of The World” reported today. He is known to the underworld as “The Major.” a tor-' mer soldier with commando training, the newspaper said police divulged. ' Tlie police “naturally would not reveal his full name or the name of the man who master-minded the whole raid and controlled it from a distance." the newspaper said Police believe they will win the war of nerves against the number one suspect in the robbery, according to the “People.” The suspect lived In south London and his house was being closely watched by detectives—and he knew it. the newspaper said. Police hoped that when his nerves started to crack he might give away vital evidence Detectives believed that the man was also the organiser of three other large-scale raids in the last nine months which netted nearly £300,000. Hauls in these raids were: £62 500 in a wages snatch at London Airport last November. £3O 000 in a snatch from a bank car in Gillingham. Kent, last January £200.000 in bullion stolen in Finsbury. London In none of these raids has the loot been recovered The man Scotland Yard believes was the master-mind in the train robbery has more than 10 years' criminal history One of his string at eon-

victions was for violence when he was a teen-ager. On Friday a cache of part of the stolen money was found dumped in a quiet Surrey wood. lit amounted to £109,000, police said. It was found by a couple walking through RedUans Wood. 25 miles south-west at London. They found two holdalls stuffed with banknotes and a locked brief case During a search of the ares with tracker dogs police also found a suitcase crammed with notes near the roadside. There were no marks of identificatoon on the holdalls. which contained only money. Detectives said the latest discovery indicated that the tftaeves had panicked and might dump much of their haul The five persons who appeared today in a 10-mm-ute hearing at tiny Linslade Court, near Leighton Buzzard. Bedfordsnire, arrived wearing hoods to hide tiheir faces Reuters said that to prevent further pre-identification by possible witnesses in a future trial. the accused were covered to prevent pictures appearing in newspapers This is believed to be an accepted practice. Thousands of takers and picnickers went treasurebunting all over Britain yesterday. People everywhere were looking for banknotes dumped by the tram robbers. Finders stand to get 10 per cent of whart they recover. Police raided a farm early today, about 30 miles from the scene of the Travelling Post Office ambush, and searched buildings and grounds. They called in a frogman who disappeared beneath the surface of a small pond, but after a long search onlookers said he only found “a few old tins.” It is believed that the gang made the Leatherslade farm a temporary hideout after the raid. Detectives are searching for somebody who sold them very large quantities of food. According to the police, the quantity of food found at the farm indicated that the gang meant to hide out there much longer than they did. The thieves quit the farm hurriedly, and when police moved in they discovered a short-wave radio which may have been used to monitor police radio messages relating to the search. Detective - Superintendent M. Fewtrell. head of the Buckinghamshire investigators, said today the huge quantities of banknotes were now “an embarrassment” to the fleeing thieves. “We hope the embarrassment caused by the sudden departure will make the robbers unload again," he added.