SPANISH SMUGGLERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 12 February 1929, Page 5

SPANISH SMUGGLERS

TOBACCO GANG CA'UGHT FALSE PANEL IN SHIP Preventive officers succeeded in breaking-up at Liverpool Docks what they described as a clen of Spanish tobacco smugglers trading as a syndicate. The men were all engaged as stewards on a South American line, and had dis-.* played considerable ingenuity in rearranging some of the woodwork of the ship to conceal scores of packets of foreign tobacco to avoid paying Customs duties. , . . . Boarding the liner on her arrival m Canada Dock, preventive officers searched the crew’s quarters without finding dutiaule goods. On entering the canteen on the after-deck, which was unlocked by the third-class chief steward, one officer became suspicious of a portion of beading supporting a shelf on a wooden side wall. Taking it down ho found that the wainscoting had been cut, and, after several eliorts, lie was able to lilt away a considerable portion of the lining of the room. . in a cavity between the wainscoting and the bulkhead he discovered thirty packages of tobacco, weighing 28£lb. The secret liidingplace had been cut by a keyhole saw, disguised witli beading and repainted. Five parcels of similar tobacco, 471 b in weight were also found concealed in a ventilator in the third-class dining saloon. The removal of a grid led to this discovery. . Four Spaniards engaged in the catering department of the vessel, including the third-class chief steward., were arrested for concealing the tobacco with intent to avoid paying duty, and when brought before the .-magistrates they all pleaded that they intended to take the tobacco to Spain and not land it in this country. The magistrates asked whether, it they had declared possession of the tobacco and revealed their intention, it would have been recorded against them to enable somebody to meet them in Spain. The Customs officer promptly replied, “We do not disclose anything to other nations.”