STORY OF A GREAT DIAMOND ROBBERY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 15 April 1908, Page 5

STORY OF A GREAT DIAMOND ROBBERY.

18 The celebrated diamond mail robbery ie took place in- South Africa in 1880. l d The organiser of thecoup^for between £163,000 and £165,000 worth of l « stones was stolen— was - one Harry fr Raymond, who was known: as the Nats poleon of thfe criminal) World. - d In 1897, when the Kimberley dias. mond fields were s reveaung their rich3- ' ness in -the 1 matter of remarkably €ne r - stones, Eaymtfnd paid * visit to South >- Africa, and made ' thei- journey from t. Capetown to Kimberley -by He is noticed that once* during every^ month s • therl§^was a vlarge f consignment /of dia- ;. .iribfcids ffonV; the' mines«%iaEiigland by b registered parcel^ and'* 'he : determined s. ; ! to' possess himself of -cine* consignment, n The ranged i in value t from £200,000 to ,£400,000,1 and the r ' 'were made up ' and ' placed in i- the ordinary mail-bags and sent to r , Capetown by the 'mail-coach. Before '.'. deciding' - uponr ' his ' modus ioperandi, Raymond took several journeys. oh the c (Soach, and finally a' casual remark nf a tke" 'driver ,. set this cleyer^criminars A mind at 'work^: and, his plan was concocted in less than five- minutes. .When within. 100 miles of 'Kimberley .the coach drossed: a small stream, and as ihe horses splashed through, the water. < the '"driver 'sdids •- ' ---»,-• , ! • . "i-'shall notvbe able to; go through" the* water" so 1 easily hi a 1 month' or so." 1 ' ' x • '"Because,^ replied ;' the/ driver, » ' 'when ths>ainy i season sets iii >£ have » to iake a; big wooded ferry tb take 1 us ■ over: I.'1 .' The" stream swells" so -that^it is i 50 feet .wide.?” - l - : - \ "Wfiat wduld happen if you did not » get over ?" -asked Raymond, in a casual I sort of way. :- ' . . k "Why, we should lose the steamier, > and the bags would have to be put in r the Capetown Post Office, t until the i next steamer sailed/ -was, the reply of . the driver. ' .. >• ■■?..■ h,' < i ».'! The next nve^niinu^s; the plan was completed whereby%he diamonds would i be. transferred, from their" lawful owners to the possession of. Raymond. JRay- ; -mond then went to Englandj and deX termined to spend .i^fewi thousand pounds perfecting his plans. 'He went ty. America' for five ."crooks/-? and-.he explained the method he intended to a,dppt. , , He "" promised if 'they > helped hituiiQ* give them £1000 'each- for, their woJfk,. and to pay:,all their expenses. ;Qne man took- a farm .a. short, distance from. the :^rivlejy tyhile anothep^as sent «td\ Capetown' • with "instructions to fcul- : tjvate tthe. post-office 'officiate' vacquain.tance, andj toj get . ■wax/, impressions iof ,thej; keys of „the safes! Another man went to' Capetown and set upfa. livery stable;, the fourth manrbeing placed in a . private . house not , far ' from the post .oflktel;/^: ..? f | --■_ ',-'■' ■'.■.> . (Twelve months-; .were, spent; in arranging the details, and when all was ready Raymond waited. 'cjuietly' until there was a very big consignment of diamonds from ; Kimberley, and then he set tb^ ipbrk./ TJpon the arrival of the mail coach Tat", the river, the driver, to his horror, 1 discovered that the wooden ferry had by some! means got adrift, and had been swept a couple of miles away. , ', . ' ,-,This necessitated an extensive detour of about 50 miles> and all possible chance of catching the steamer was , lost, which was, of course, the reason, for. the young farmer cutting adrift the ferry. ,>When the/Qoach arrived. at Carietowh the "steamer had sailed, and .the bags;, were,' therefore, "placed in the post office safes*/ >At ,2 a.m. the, neafc morning- the keys-.made from the wax impressions opened ' the doors < of the post office and the safes, whereupon twelve of the bags .'twere, transferred into the cart which ' the' livery stable proprietor, had/ already r stationed ouf£ side. .^ThejM were,- taken td the private houße~and buried in the garden, where they- remained., for six months* ; Raymond kept hisjwprd with the f'crookß," and they, were paid f £looo each, and they went back to America. The "Napoleon", opened an office in Capetown Las a diamond, merchant,, and when the coast clear he came to England and established himself, as a diamond merohant in-Hatton Garden. Here he sold the stones, netting something approaching £163,000. ,