CASE OF CARDIGANS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 11 May 1939, Page 13

CASE OF CARDIGANS

DISAPPEARANCE FROM SHIP MEMBER OF CREW ADMITS THEFT OF ONE i United Press Association! NEW PLYMOUTH, 10th May. The disappearance from the motor vessel Trojan Star at New Plymouth during the week-end of a case of 283 women’s cardigan coats, the finding of 57 of them secreted in the shaft tunnel of the vessel, and the admission by a member of the crew of the theft of one of them, were features of a case in the Police Court this morning.

Joseph Best, ship’s cleaner, pleaded guilty to the theft of one coat, which, it was stated, he gave to a taxi-driver in part-payment for the fare to the port on Sunday. A detective stated that the Trojan Star had been travelling around the coast and a case of women’s cardigan coats had been overcarried from Lyttelton. The case was in the hold when it was battened down after the watersiders had ceased work on Saturday at 5 p.m. When the hold was opened on Monday morning the chief officer noticed that the case had been pillaged and that the whole of the coats had disappeared. On Sunday the accused engaged a taxi to take him back to the ship. There was an argument between the accused and the taxi-driver about the fare, and the accused ultimately said he had a lady’s cardigan on board which he offered as part-payment. The taxi man accepted, but when he learned that the police were making inquiries about the loss of garments he went to the police. The accused at first denied all knowledge of the matter, but this morning, however, he admitted taking the coat.

In answer to the Magistrate the accused said he picked up the cardigan on the deck of the ship on Saturday and was not aware that it was part of the ship’s cargo. “It is obvious,” said the detective, “that these cardigans were stolen by members of the ship’s crew. In such cases when goods are found it is not always possible to ascertain by whom they were stolen, but 57 coats were found in the shaft tunnel of the ship, and it is pretty obvious what section of the crew was concerned, though the accused is charged with the theft of only one coat.”

Best was convicted and fined £