SENSATIONAL BURGLARY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18851, 2 May 1923, Page 7

SENSATIONAL BURGLARY

CLEVER GANG AT WORK

LONDON JEWELLER’S SHOP

RAIDED.

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright ' LONDON, May 1. (Received May i, at 7.20‘ p.m.) One of the most sensational robberies in the West End of London for some years was discovered in the shop of Messrs Harris, Blairman and Sons in Regent street which was ransacked during the week-end. Miniatures and objets d’art, valued at least at £50,000, were stolen. It is believed that the theft was the work of a gang of international thieves who have lately looted paintings and antiques from several country mansions.

Entering through the skylight the premises, from .which the caretaker was absent, the thieves made a leisurely selection, showing the skill of connoisseurs m making their choice, and the skill •of cracksmen in covering their tracks. The articles stolen -include 28 miniatures of great rarity in richly chased and embossed mountings from world-known private collections. They are nearly all jf royal personalities and members of the nobility, including Henry the Third, Catherine the First, and the Duchess of Orleans. The thefts also include 20 snuff boxes, mostly of gold and silver, a number of gilt statuettes, and 100 articles of silver tableware marked r.R., surmounted by a coronet. Mr Blairman says that the ‘value can scarcely be approximately estimated. Antique dealers in England and the Continent have been warned of the nature of the goods. The thieves took everything of value in the shop window and showcases. They .had evidently studied the movements of the staff and the police. —A. and N.Z. Cable!