Two Men Hold Up T.A.B. Office

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31583, 22 January 1968, Page 1

Two Men Hold Up T.A.B. Office

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, January 21. Two masked men, one armed with a pistol, held up the Mission Bay Totalisator Agency Board office on Saturday night and escaped after tying up the staff of two —a man and a woman. The robbers took a large amount of money, believed to be between $3OOO and $5OOO. The hold-up was separated only by a thin wall from a score of restaurant patrons.

It took place in the heart of the Mission Bay shopping centre, which is always crowded on a Saturday night. The police are now looking for two men. They are believed to be European, aged between 25 and 30, and between sft Bin and sft 9in. One, of slim build, was well dressed in a dark, singlebreasted suit and blue shirt. The other was wearing a jersey. sports trousers and shoes, all of a brownish colour. Mr B. M. Magnusson, of Kohimarama, said he and the other member of the T.A.B. staff, Mrs I. M. Mansfield, of Mount Wellington, were in the office just before closing time at 7.30 p.m. Given A Fright “The men came in a spectacular way,” he said. “There was a terrific explosion—as though they had thrown a bomb.

“The blinds flapped and gave us a fright, and then they pushed into the office where we were. They both had stockings over their heads.

“They must have used their feet to push the door in. One of them had a gun and he told us to be quiet and sit down. “They ransacked the drawers and found the money. They put it in a paper bag. Just before they took off they tied us up with thick twine,” said Mr Magnusson. •"They tied our hands and feet to the high stools we were sitting on. They made a fairly tight job of it Calls For Help “After they had gone we started yelling and after a lot of this, they heard us in the Captain’s Table Restaurant next door. “There is an intervening wall between and we could hear dishes and talking.” Mr Magnusson said he and Mrs Mansfield had been trussed up for six or seven minutes before they were released. An apprentice cook at the restaurant, Mr M. M. Farrimond, aged 16, heard their calls for help and released them. Mr Magnusson said the thieves ripped the telephone wires from the wall. He was bound so tightly that rope marks were still visible round his ankles this afternoon. Mrs Mansfield praised Mr Magnusson for his presence

of mind during the hold-up. “Bruce was marvellous,” she said. “He told them I had a heart condition, which of course, I haven’t, and not to tie me too tightly. “He was sort of belligerent towards them and they pushed him on the head a bit.” Mrs Mansfield said the robbers had found the T.A.B. safe, but there had been nothing in it. Mr Farrimond said when he first heard the couple shouting for help he thought they were just joking, but when he found them bound, he cut them loose with a pair of scissors.

Detective Inspector A. R. Mathieson said it was not yet known how the robbers had escaped. He said there were two routes away from the T.A.B. —one led to Tamaki Drive and the other was a grass driveway leading to nearby Narau Crescent An employee of the Captain’s Table Restaurant said today that until two years and a half ago there had been an alarm bell system between the restaurant and the T.A.B. The T.A.B. manager, Mr J. Jaffe, is holidaying at Red Beach. Mrs Mansfield is in charge in his absence.