SIMPLE SMUGGLING PLAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20263, 24 May 1929, Page 14

SIMPLE SMUGGLING PLAN.

DISCOVERY IN SYDNEY. USE OF A " PASSED " SUITCASE. A simple and what might have been a very effective method of smuggling goods away from a steamer was disclosed in Sydney recently. At the gates of the wharf a customs officer stopped a lorry, and questioned tlie driver concerning a suitcase which was lashed alongside. r lhe suitcase, it was found, contained gramophone records and other articles, for which " duty amounting to £3 was chargeable. Ihe suitcase was confiscated. The carrier explained that the suitcase was the property of a man who lie believed, was a passenger bv the laniti. ile had been instructed to deliver it at ,a certain ferry wharf. As this was an intermediate stop, it was placed in a handy position apart from otner articles. There it aroused the. suspicions of the customs officer. It was established that? the suitcase was the property of a steamer employee. •\ senior customs officer, before whom he was taken, wanted to know why the suitcase bore marks showing that it had been inspected by a searcher, and why a gate pass had been issued. Steps were being token to find the official responsible when the man offered the explanation: ''To tell you the truth, hi said, "I had the suitcase examined, and then took it back on board the ship. The articles in question were put inside, nnd tlie suitcase was left on the wharf for tho carrier." The customs officer d'rected that a prosecution should be laid.