Auck. blitz by detectives

Press, 9 July 1979, Page 1

Auck. blitz by detectives

PA Auckland Auckland homicide detectives looking for the gunman who shot down Margaret Bell, a nightclub hostess, are turning the city’s drug world upside down. Armed with search warrants, the homicide squad “turned over” 20 houses and flats during the weekend and charged four persons with narcotics-related offences. The deputy head of the squad. Detective SeniorSergeant I. F. Hastings, said last evening that the police were following a

number of positive leads. The squad also had a number of strong suspects. The police believe at least four persons would have been involved in a plot to shoot a woman who was known to frequent the Mainstreet Cabaret. Asked if the police had suspicions about any group yet, he said: “We have some particular people in mind. “At the moment we are firmly convinced that there are a number of persons with valuable information. who for one reason or another have not come forward. The purpose of

the search warrants was to try to find these persons.” Miss Bell, aged 17, was shot dead in the foyer of the Mainstreet Cabaret in Upper Queen Street about 3.30 a.m. a week ago yesterday. Detectives believe she was mistaken for a woman of similar description and shot by a “hit man” hired by someone in the drug underworld. It was raining heavily at the time. Apparently the bullet was fired from a car parked outside the nightclub. The car. believed to be either a 1965 or 1966 APS or AP6 Chrysler Valiant, drove off

at high speed down Queen Street. More witnesses have improved the descriptions the police have of the two men seen in the car. A squad of 30 detectives visited various Auckland night-spots during the week-end, seeking information. At one club, the man heading the inquiry, Detective Inspector B. J. Rowe, was allowed to address guests and appeal for information to help the police with the investigation.