STAGING A MAIL ROBBERY

Evening Star, Issue 20634, 6 November 1930, Page 17

STAGING A MAIL ROBBERY

MOCK QUARREL TO DISTRACT ATTENTION A mock quarrel between a. man and a woman was staged on the platform of Hartford (Kent) railway station to distract the attention of officials while thieves escaped with a. mailbag containing suTeen registered packages J o the value ol several thousand pounds, _ ’The mails had just arrived, and officials and porters were preoccupied sorting them when a man and woman began to’shout at the top of their voices, apparently quarrelling. Light blows were exchanged, and when tlio woman began to scream porters and officials ran to the spot. It was about five minutes before they were able to restore order, and when they returned la the mails they found one hag containing registered packages was missing. Shortly after the loss had been discovered they suddenly realised that the “ quarrel ” was a ruse, but a search of the streets was futile. The man and woman had disappeared. The hag boro no distinguishing marks, hub it was the only one containing valuables. The local police were informed, and a search of the whole district provided no clue. The detectives arc convinced that the thieves had a thorough knowledge of the system of handling the mails.