MAIL BAGS LOOTED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18345, 10 March 1923, Page 9

MAIL BAGS LOOTED.

ROBBERY IN SYDNEY. LARGE StTM INVOLVED. NEW ZEALAND AFFECTED. The ransacking of registered mail bags at the parcels office, Central Square, recently, was one of the most daring "jobs" that, has been carried out in Sydney for many years. It will take about 10 days to go through the mail, check it, and learn the actual contents of tho missing envelopes, says a Sydney paper. A largo staff has been working since the robbery was discovered, and has com. menced the ■ work of telephoning to tho various city firms and persons ' who had registered mail in the office at the time of the robbery. The postal authorities have not the slightest doubt that the person, or persons, responsible for the robbery had "inside" information. The fact.' that they selected a Saturday night to carry out the work, is convincing proof that tliey knew the working of the posted office. Saturday night is the only night in the week that the postal staff is not on' duty at the railway. Most of the mail trains leave on Friday night, and after the mail is sorted, put in b;-.gs. and scaled on Saturday morning the staff knocks off. and the mail is stacked on the first floor. to await the operations of the employees on Sunday morning. Climbed Up Elevator. The thieves, it is thought, first got over the rami) at the side of the building. Then they climbed the external, iron frame of the elevator for a distance of 40ft., and broke a solid glass window near the catch. The registered mail was inside ordinary mail bags containing unregistered letters. The registered mail was enclosed in a separate bag and sealed, and after opening the largo 'mail bags the thieves evidently burst open the smaller bags and commenced to deal with the ' registered letters. The letters were opened, and those that were of no value were littered all over the floor. Some, too, that we're of value met the same fate, which shows that the thieves must have worked hurriedly, and had no time to discriminate between good and bad. Another- theory put forward by the postal authorities is that the thieves were looking for moneybank drafts —and so on, and were not so concerned about jewellery or articles that were 'traceable. There were watches strewn about the valuable ones, too. Other pieces of jewellery were mixed up in the conglomeration of mutilated letters, so this would boar out the contention the*, the thieves expected to get a large haul of bank notes. Altogether about 25 mail bags were opened, and from them were taken the smaller registered bags. Finding the Owners. Only those in the post office know what the work of tracing the mail actually means. It will entail days of hard work. The authorities cannot give an ' estimate of the value of the missing articles, for they don't know what the letters contained. To find this out, the staff will have to work for about 10 days. - However, it is believed that the value of the missing articles will run into thousands of pounds. , i Then again, the postal notes, ;•■ jewellery, deeds, proposals of marriage, and other registered articles that were left strewn about the floor have to be fcund owners. This is the greatest work of all. because when the envelope with the registered number is picked up it -has.:to he checked with the post office book, and the person who consigned the letter communicated with. _ ~ Registered letters from New, Zealand. Tasmania, and all over Australia that have been sent to Sydney to pick-up foreign mail steamers were among the looted bags. In this case post offices have to be communicated with--by cable, and then inquiries have to be : instituted in each capital r where-the, letters or packet was registered. ... . Large amounts of money, it has been stated, were in transit from different banks .in the registered mail. ; v