GERMAN SPIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14223, 20 November 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

GERMAN SPIES.

CAPTURE OF A GANG IN FRANCE. ThE existence of an elaborate organisation of German spies *in France is believed to have been revealed by the arrest in Rheims of seven men and three women alleged to be the paid ; agente of the 'Berlin -War Office;- Large quantities of correspondence have been seized, and the French l police affirm that the gang now captured is only part of a greater organisation, the operations of which are secretly directed by German agents in Paris.. The present capture will revive the outbursts of spy mania" which have recently occurred iin France in connection; with the theft'of a quick-firing gun from the Chalons forts and with? other incidents of a : similar nature, tegarding which the authorities have beenVunable or. unwilling to give any explanation. , 4 ( u.\-\ The authorities vat 'Rheims have made a .series of important captures of ;, ; alleged spies anil have obtained information which is said to -prove the existence of a vast system of espionage. / Rheims was apparently the headquarters of a body of spies in the ' pay 'of the \ German military; authorities. : Seven men : arid three women are now under arrest. The leaders have so far eluded capture. 5 The names of those in ; custody in the Rheims prison are Troussier ; and;-; Aye, mechanics; Taffin, designer at the military engineering 'headquarters at ■' Nancy; ,Berteaux, innkeeper at Sedan; Charles AnceL and two others whose names are not mentioned. • The names of the three women are Paternbtre, Megissier, and Berteaux. V

, Troussier was denounced by a companion as a German spy, and when questioned, is' alleged to have admitted that he was in the ■ pay -of a German officer, Maurice Koch, residing at"' Strasburg. Koch, fhe said, advanced him £72, and askedthim-to supply various parts of the recoil brake of the French 3in gun, but he never complied with the officer's request. He added that Koch requested him to try to discover artillerymen deserters from the French army, so as to help him obtain what he wanted. Troussier arranged with Ave" to play the part of deserter. Ave, on being arrested, denied that he had ever been guilty of espionage. Troussier - speaks German fluently, but Ave pretend* that he ' cannot • read or write. At his lodgings, and at those of Troussier, the police seized a large quantity of correspondence which, it is stated, leaves no doubt they carried on espionage on behalf of the German War Office. -

Taffin also denies the charge of spying, but admits that he is in correspondence with a German agent named, Schwartz, formerly a French police official, and now living in Luxemburg. Taffin alleges, that a German agent.paid him £20 for an ordnance map of the environs of Nancy, which can be bought anywhere for :Is 6d.

Compromising correspondence was also seized at the lodgings of .Taffinand of the woman Megissier, who cultivated the acquaintance of soldiers in order to obtain possession of military secrets. . / As soon as the results of the recent inquiry are known the Secret Police Department in Paris will make investigations in suspected quarters in that city, as it is believed that the leaders of the gang directed the operations at Rheims from Paris..