GOLD SEIZED

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24554, 9 April 1943, Page 2

GOLD SEIZED

124 BARS IN AMERICA THE ARAHURA CASE ACCUSED DENIES THEFT (P.A.) CHKISTCHURCH, Thursday The hearing of evidence in the case against Leo Edward Morlaiul, who is charged with the theft of 3650 ounces of gold, valued at £31,496, the property of the Arahura Gold Dredging Company, Limited, was concluded before Mr. E. C. Levvey, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court, to-day. Accused, an Australian metallurgist aged 42, is alleged to have stolen the gold at Arahura, near Hokitika, in 1940, when lio was an employee of the company. Accused pleaded not guilty and was committed to the Supremo Court for trial.

Corporal Maxted, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said he was detailed on February 12, 1941, to carry out investigations concerning accused who had been arrested the previous day by United States customs officers at Blaine, Washington, on a charge of attempting to smuggle 57 bars of gold over the border from Canada. Witness saw accused in the presence of a lawyer (Mr. Gardin), who said that accused had an amount of gold in Canada equal to that which had been seized by the United States authorities, but that he did not care to state at that time where the gold was stored. Gold Found in Chests Witness said that the gold seized had not been declared. An officer in Vancouver which was rented by accused and used as a storeroom was later searched. Witness produced parts of two camphor chests which had held 12 bars of gold secreted in each chest. Altogether 53 bars were recovered from the office and another bar from the Georgia Hotel,

In accused's room in the Georgia Hotel, witness continued, he found a diary (produced). Figures in the diary referred to weights o! gold in each box. Records in the diary indicated that there were 124 bars weighing 3397.710z. The diary indicated that 124 bars had been brought to Canada. Of that number 57 were seized in the United States and 54 in Canada, indicating that 13 bars had been disposed of. Evidence About Smuggling

Arthur S. Atlierton, "United States customs officer, said that on February 11. 1941, lie was in a United States customhouse on the boundary between Canada and the United States when a motor-car drove in from the Canadian side. Accused was alone in the car and was examined by customs officers. After accused said he had nothing but personal elfects in the rear part of the car witness observed that the lining covering the body was loose. Between the lining and the body a small package covered with black cloth was found and later another package. They were extremely heavy for their size. Witness said he questioned accused, who said it was gold and that there were two more packages in the car. Accused was then arrested and was later confined to King's County Gaol on a charge of smuggling gold. He later pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a penitentiary in Washington. Accused pleaded not guilty and was committed for trial.