"THE GRAB GANG"

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 50, 27 February 1918, Page 7

"THE GRAB GANG"

SYDNEY ROBBERIES. DARING POST OFFICE THIEF GETS AWAY. . Realising that the methods of the ''Excuse me!" gang, which made several good hauls of money in Sydney and Melbourne hanks, are too well-known to be worth the risk, thieves have evidently decided to rely on straight-out daring. They simply watch for openings, snatch the money from the counter and bolt, and trust to luck, says the Sydney Sun of February 13th, in reporting one of the robberies briefly referred to in the cablegrams last week. The Sydney Sun report proceeds : After a highly exciting chase through the city, a man who had snatched £27 in notes from off the counter in the Stamp Office at the G..0.., this morning, dodged into Lasseter's Emporium in George-street, and escaped. - The robbery was a particularly daring one, and was similar to the theft committed at the E., S., and A. Bank at the corner of Pitt and Ba.thurst-streets yesterday afternoon. On that occasion Mr William Walker, of Walker's Reeaurant in Park-street, had £IOO belonging to him snatched off the counter by a man who blinded him with flour. ROBBERY WELL PLANNED. The £27, which belonged to the postal authorities, was snatched off the counter a few minutes after 9 o'clock this morning. The clerks at the time were busily engaged in counting up their money and attending to customers. About 20 or 30 persons were in .the spacious room. The thief had evidently planned the robbery carefully, for he selected a moment most advantageous to himself. The majority of the clerks at the stamp counter had their backs turned, and his prospective victim, Oliver Tucker, had his head down engrossed m checking his money, when he made his dash and pounced on the money. Mr Tucker was' standing at the counter, and had just run over the 27 £1 notes, which he had placed on the counter immediately in front o£ him while he checked his silver. Some of the silver from his till had been placed on the counter, and he was bending over and scooping the remainder out of the receptacles, when, like a flash, a hand reached acroes the counter and grabbed the bundle of notes. Looking up, Mr Tucker saw the man, who had secured the money, dash past'several peoole and.run out thrdugh the- door into Martin Place, and without hesitation Tucker leapt the counter and ran-after him. ■■" " The man raced into Pitt-street, with Tucker close on his heels, but -just when it looked "as if he had a splendid chance of capturing him a tram bound for the Central Railway station passed. It was travelling at a fast rate, but the thief took a chance, and leapt on to the footboard near the rear of the second car. Tucker also made a bid to -catch the tram, but he was unfortunate, for, in increasing his speed, he stumbled and

fell. This enabled the robber to obtain an appreciable lead on his pursuer, despite that Tucker picked himself up quickly and went after him again. STOP THIEF! At the corner of Pitt and King-streets the thief jumped off the tram and raced down King street towards George street, with Tucker, who was being followed by a large number of men who had learnt of the robbery, and were anxious to help in the capture, following him. When nearing George street, an out-ward-bound tram left the s-topping-place and the robber jumped on board. On gaining George street, Tucker, who had attracted a lot of attention by his calls of "Stop thief !" raced after the car, and appealed in a loud voice for the tram to be stopped. After a few seconds his cries were heard by the conductor, and the tram was pulled up. (By that time, however, it was opposite Lassetters' emporium, and although Tucker waved his arms excitedly and called out "Grab that man," indicating the thief, the conductor did not understand what was being asked of him. At any rate Tucker saw his man spring off the tram and run across George-street into Lassetters' shop. He followed as fast as he could, but by the time he got inside the premises there was no trace of him. LASETTERS* SEARCHED. He appealed to the assistants to help him, but they were in ignorance as to what had happened, and did not know where the man had gone to. They saw a man run in, they said, but beyond that they were not able to assist him. But when Tucker explained the robbery they readily joined him, and helped to make a search of the premises. Tucker went through every department and searched every corner of the big building, but he found no trace of the man he was looking for. Evidently the thief moved hurriedly through several departments, and escaped through one of the back dors into York-street. When he realised that the man had slipped throueh hie fingers Tucker hurried back to the G.P.O. and notified his superior officers of his loss. The police were informed immediately, and detectives and plain-clothes men were told off to make an investigation. They also made inquiries at Lasseters' and at a number of places in York-street, but without result. What became of the thief after he entered Lassetters' could not be ascertained.