CHEMISTS ROBBED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21250, 2 August 1932, Page 14

CHEMISTS ROBBED

DANGEROUS DRUGS STOLEN SEVERAL CASES IN SYDNEY Detectives believe that a gang of drug peddlers, who have been deprived of their usual sources of supply by the vigilanco of the polico and customs officials, have been responsible for a number of . thefts from chemists' shops in Sydney and suburbs recently. In several cases sums of money in tho shops were untouched, and only drugs, such as cocaine, morphia' and heroin, wero takon. An ordinary thief would probably have first looked for the money and taken goods of obvious value.' Considerable knowledge was necessary to separate the drugs from other chemicals. Polico have been interested by a report that a chemist's shop at Woollabra was visited early one morning by a woman and an accomplice. A taxi-driver reported that he had seen the woman leave the shop and drive away in a motorcar, which was parked near by in charge of an accomplice. Tho polico found that an attempt had been made to open the front door of the shop with a jemmy or chisel. Although the thieves wore disturbed, they evidently did not return emptyhanded, as a robbery from another pharmacy, in tho same street, was reported. Thieves used a jemmy or other sharp steel instrument to break the lock of the front door. There was about £ls in the till, but no attempt was made to take it._ A poison chest containing ; tubes of cocaine, morphia and heroin was ransacked. Several other robbevics have been reported to tho police. The most important occurred at Darlinghurst. The cabinet where poisons and dangerous drugs were kept wrfs almost emptied. Among the | spoils were a number of tubes of morphia.