QUICK-RICH DOCK THIEVES

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 286, 29 August 1931, Page 23

QUICK-RICH DOCK THIEVES

£22,000 From One Conspiracy

It is a lucrative business to cheat shipping companies and owners of cargoes—and far easier than it would seem. Peeps behind the scenes of dock thieving are given by Supt. William Hughes, of the Liverpool City Police, in the “Police Journal” for July. Little things often give the thieves away—sometimes rather ludicrously. Supt. Hughes tells of a garrulous old woman cleaner leaving the docks. The Charwoman's Hat. On being challenged by a constable, she remarked, as she touched her head with her forefinger, “It’s up here you want It.” The constable, concluding this might be so, asked her to remove her hat, under which were concealed four tins of sardines. A police-inspectoi - passing a shop heard a clinking of metals'in the rear. He Investigated, and found a lorry containing metal which was being carried Into the yard. The shop was supposed to deal only with second-hand furniture, and was kept by the wife of a metal dealer, who occupied separate premises. , This was during the war. It was found that large quantities of metalhad been stolen from various parts of the docks by two young men who were evading military service. They sold it

to the woman acting in collusion with her, husband, who paid his wife after she had purchased the metal at a ridiculous price. Father and Son. An investigation which took two and a-half years revealed a huge Conspiracy, involving a master porter with 19 years' service, six subordinates including foremen with long employment, and the son of a responsible man In charge of warehouse and yards. The son, trading as a dealer in waste material, obtained quantities of West African produce shipped by the father’s firm and sold them. > Then the master-porter came on the scene, and the thefts stopped for two months. It is. assumed that he diß<covered a theft in which the father and son were involved, and, being of an exceptionally shrewd type, saw the possibility of acquiring riches quickly, and took it. When all were in the swim the conspirators made £220 for one day’s work —the'difference between the price paid by the dealer to the shipping company and that received by him. At the trial It was found that thi confederates had cleared it Uast £22,000. The master-porter Committed suicide during the assizes.