STRANGE JEWEL ROBBERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15521, 31 January 1914, Page 2 (Supplement)

STRANGE JEWEL ROBBERY.

MESSENGER AS TOOL. "'. A few weeks ago curious news ■ was. jjjti ceived in Paris from Nantes to the effect .-; that a daring jewel robbery had beea,. committed there to the detriment of a\ travelling agent, whose box of jewels I§| mysteriously removed, and another, 'filled® "with soap, put in its place. The agent; , M. Monnot, had como from Besanccn with . a box full of jewels and a valise. As_ha. had to visit a number of iewellers in the <. town, he. called on one of them, who was' - till then his best customer, a certain ;M.;..' Plazolles; :as his . box was too Jwsg| to move about easily, he asked the jsv?4'- ' Jer to keep it for him as well as the valise. ?\ On the- following day, according to M-, Kazolles, a messenger came and told him:? that he had orders to take the bos and"; the vidise to the railway station. < £|||j jeweller staled that he gave up the aiti.cles. but soon afterwards he alleged that -' lie had doubts, and telephoned to M. -Motes not, telling him what had happened, ' m „ Monnot was- surprised, and said that »*_ had not given any orders, and hurried to the jeweller's place. - By that time &$ ' messenger who had carried tho • box ,»* i the valise to the station returned, •an*": handed up- the luggage ticket. He '• 1 asked who had given him the order to;; come and fetch tho bos, and he said'th»,, ho thought that the nerson was tho owr"M. Monnot hastened to the railway M tion, and there found a box and his v.nV : The box was not his, but merely rcsejubiet. it, and when it was opened it was few™ / to contain only a quantity o? soap '&& sugar. The messenger could give no'*j2 planation. All he could say was that'*-* : box, was the same as the one he had % tit:.:- 1 at the jeweller's." But this was inn/" sible. It was supposed at first that- tl*;> substitution- of one box for another « £ made whilst the messenger was cany' f the valise to the luggage-room, although ? the messenger said that ho was only a W* x, seconds, and that it was impossible.- \ \. But. stvangelv enough, M. Plazolles, jeweller to whom the box had been »'* tided, left Nantes on the following dav.ft,',, Paris, And he has not been seen I ** then.-,: There is a grave suspicioni B '*C> that, he may have appropriated, the, i 6 '!*^ l and changed the contents of the bos. To*', | police, ;at any - rate, l are looking; for _ii»» , and a warrant has been issued for his 'A' , rest. The jewellery whidi the bo* «»**.*, I lamed was worth about £1200; i 1