DIAMOND GANG

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 June 1937, Page 12

DIAMOND GANG

SHREWD METHODS USED. That the United States Treasury is losing £1,000,000 a year through the operations of a clever gang of diamond smugglers, believed to have their headquarters in London, is the J revelation made by Mr. Charles T. r»,„.phy, an experienced official of that I department, who arrived recently in. 'Paris, to begin his investigations into the operations of the gang. The fact that smuggling on a large scale has been going on for years was known, but it was not until recently that enough information came into the .possession of Mr. Murphy to justify his mission to Europe. He learned that a smartly-dressed [ woman, who had been a passenger on | the French liner Normandie, had got !through the American Customs with I diamonds valued at £200,000 in a seci ret recess in a suitcase. Inquiries show that this woman and her husband, who is stated to be English, had made many visits to the United States, and both had been in communication with persons interested in diamond smuggling. It is alleged that the gang hast developed considerable ingenuity in the manufacture of cases and trunks with secret “pockets” for concealing diamonds and other valuables from the eyes of Customs officers. They even make use of “dummy” books for that purpose, and Bibles have been pressed into service as least likely to arouse suspicion. A number of those implicated in the traffic have been arrested iu the United States, but their names are being kept back lest the disclosure should put the real heads of tho gang in Europe on their guard. It is believed by the authorities that this particular gang has been operating for at least five years, and that its operations have cost the Treasury on an average £1,000,000 a year in lost :luty on diamonds taken into the Unit ) ?d States.