MAIL ROBBERY.

Grey River Argus, 12 February 1929, Page 4

MAIL ROBBERY.

ON S.S. WAHINE. Work of Experts. WHEN DID IT OCCUR? WELLINGTON, February 11. The Secretary of the General Post Office advices 'jthat? some mails, received from the South Island by the “Wahine, ” yesterday morning, were found on discharge of the vessel to have been opened and a portion of the registered contents abstracted from them. Full details of the losses are not yet available, but it is known the registered contents of bags from various parts of the South Island have been stolen. There is no suggestion that non-registered letters were interfered with. The matter is being inquired into by the police. WELLINGTON, February 11. About 460 bags of mail were brought up bj ih*. Wahine on her trip from Lyttelton on Saturday night. All the mail mutter on the vessel is stowed under lock and key m No 3 hold in the, after-part of the ship, and, in view of this fact, it is thought in some quarters that the pillaging was done "Irafore the bags were placed on the Wahine. It is understood that in each ease the string fastening round the top of the bags was cut and then retied. The seals w|qre left intact. None of the bags containing ordinary mail matter was tampered wi -n. and the fact that attention was devoted solely to bags containing registered letters is hl-'ld to suggest that the robbery was the work of experts. EUROPEAN MAILS DAMAGED IN TRANSIT. WELLINGTON. February 11.

When the mails were landed from R.M.S. Makura to-day, a considerable quantity of letters and newspapers from England was found to be wet. In several cases, the addresses on the mail matter were not decipherable, while a quantity of letters and newspapers wer e reconditioned to-day for delivery. The mails were for Wellington and other places in the Dominion.

It is> believed that the mails were wet while crossing the Atlantic to New York, during a period when heavy storms buffeted shipping, and large quantities of water came ©board eveh the largest liners.