BURGLARS AT WORK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19721, 22 August 1927, Page 8

BURGLARS AT WORK.

CASES IN CHRISTCHURCH. RADIO GOODS RAIDED. VISIT TO JEWELLER'S SHOP. [by TELEGRAPH. OWN CORRESPONDENT.] CHKISTCHURCH, Saturday. Breaking into tho premises of Mr. A. E. Strange, radio and electrical engineer of Worcester Street, last night thieves secured radio apparatus valued at about £l3O. This is the second occasion in less than two years on which Mr. Strange's premises have been entered and. radio material stolen. The burglary took place between ten o'clock last night and eight o'clock this morning. Breaking the lock off a large iron gate that gives entrance to a right-of-way the thieves managed to prise two heavy boards off a doorway. They then got through the opening and raided the radio store and the shop. None of the heavier electrical material was stolen, the burglars concentrating on small expensive pieces of wireless apparatus, of. which there was a heavy stock. What they did not want they threw on the floor and this morning the place looked as if it had been the centre of a riot. A quantity of watches and jewellery valued at a considerable sum was stolen from the shop of Mr. H. Burrows, watchmaker and jeweller, at the corner of Stanmore Road and Worcester Street, Linwood, some time during Wednesday night. Entrance was gained to the premises through the front door, whict faces Stanmore Road. The woodwork near the lock was chipped, apparently by a sharp instrument, and the door forced, .the lock being broken. The lock of a small door opening from the shop to the window was also forced. Only valuable articles were taken, such as gold watches, rings and precidus stones. All the cheap watches and large clocks were left behind. There was no money in the shop at the time. THIEVES IN AUCKLAND. TOBACCO AND CIGARETTES. NIGHT WATCHMAN ELUDED. Thieves who have discovered a ready channel for the disposal of tobacco and cigarettes have been very active in Auckland this year, the latest extensive theft being perpetrated in the early hours of Saturday morning, when about £IOO worth of goods were taken from the store of Mr. B. J. Cates, Dominion Road. The bulk of the "haul" suggests that a motorcar was used to whisk away the stolen property. In view of recent burglaries near Dominion Road terminus, Mr. Cates and other shopkeepers arranged for a night watchman to patrol the area, but although the thieves macle their exit into Dominion Road on Saturday their operations were conducted with such stealth that nothing unusual -was noticed until Mr. Cates' son visited the shop at 6 a.m. The intruders effected entrance from the backyard by removing a panel from a door with a chisel. There was evidence that candles had been used for an exhaustive search of the shop and office. With the exception of a few plugs, the entire stock of tobacco and cigarettes was taken. The thieves also removed tinned goods and half a box of butter. The police are looking for the illicit agencies through which tobacco and cigarettes are being distributed. The attentions which have been paid to tobacconist shops in Auckland indicate that the incentive behind recent thefts is more than a mere personal desire to smoke without expense. Popular brands of cigarettes are almost impossible to identify, and the cheapest of all luxuries is so universally enjoyed that the illicit hawker finds many ready markets.