WERNHER JEWEL ROBBERY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19257, 22 August 1924, Page 7

WERNHER JEWEL ROBBERY

DIFFICULTIES OF THE THIEF. USABLE TO DISPOSE OF LOOT. LONDON, July 10. The efforts of scores of detectives nave failed to trace the antique jewels and heirlooms stolen from the £1,000,000 Wernher collection at Bath House, the residence of Lady Ludiow, last \Vedne-day nirdit. 'The missing articles are valued at £IOO,OOO, and include some of the choicest specimens of the museum. In the ordinary way, it is probable that by now the police would have secured many clues to the perpetrator of the robbery and the whereabouts of the stolen property, but in this case the usual chaniiels for disposing of the property are closed to him, as the receiver of stolen goods will have nothing to do with artic.es which are not readily marketable, and there is not a single object stolon from Bath House which would not be recognised immediately if anyone attempted to disproblem confronting the thief, therefore, is as great as that facing the police. While on the one hand the police have no clue to the thief, on the other hand, he presumably is burdened with £IOO,OOO worth of property on which he cannot raise a shilling. That fact is causing the detectives to pay particular attention to the possibility that the burglary may have been a ‘commissioned” job by someone desiring to acquire some of the treasures in the collection. If this theory is correct, it is probable that the stolen articles have already reached their destination to be treasured in secret. If it was only a speculative burglary, it ia difficult to account for the discrimination shown in the selection of the articles. The thief would know that he could not dispose of such goods, while the knowledge which led him to select them would also tell him that to break them up would be to ruin their value. Should some such' attempt be made, supposing the burglar did not possess the knowledge which his selection of tho articles seems to indicate, the value of the haul would then be reduced to a comparatively few pounds. Meanwhile, if "an attempt is made to smuggle the collection out of the country, either in whole or in part, ingenious methods will have to be employed, as Scotland Yard has every possible exit watched, and its officers are too familiar with msee for Viiding contraband goods to overlook any ordinary attempt. In some manner a knowledge of the house was gained by the thief, and there are many theories advanced as to how it was known that a tool-box—utilised for opening the glass cases in which the articles were stored —was found. The toolbox was kept in Lady Ludlow’s sittingroom.