SAFE BLOWERS' ACTIVITIES,

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20875, 15 November 1929, Page 10

SAFE BLOWERS' ACTIVITIES,

EXPERT CRACKSMEN AT WORK. THIEVES’ POOR REWARD. (Special to Daily Times.) CHRISTCHURCH, November 14. The safe blowers, apparently expert cracksmen, were again active in the city during last night. This time the scene of their operations was in the office of the Jarrah Timber Company in Moorhouse avenue, where two . safes were opened, one wjth gelignite. The burglars gained very little for their trouble, however, their total haul being only £4 in cash and £1 In stamps. It is not known at what time the attempt was made, as no so.und of the. explosion was heard anywhere in the vicinity. The outrage was first discovered when the clerks arrived at the office at 8 o’clock this morning to find a window forced and the office littered with- papers and dust. Both safe doors were open. The men who planned the attack were evidently expert cracksmen,, with- plenty of experience and all the material necessary for carrying out their ” jobs ’’ successfully. They gained admittance to the office, a wooden' structure of two rooms, by way of a back window, which they forced with a jemmy, cutting the wire mesh right out on the inside. Apparently every precaution was taken against surprise. The work on the safe again indicated the expert. The cover was broken off the keyhole of the lock and the charge rammed in. The keyhole was then packed with blotting paper and rammed tight with a pen handle. The charge must have been blown with an electric spark, for this morninga thin wire was found leading from the safe and Out through the back window. The door of the safe was broken very cleanly by the explosion, but no’ damage was: done to the inside of, thenafe. The .bolts, holding the door were snapped off cleanly by the shock. Clouds of dust were shaken down by the explosion •in the room, and an electric light shade was cracked. The thieves then set to work on the drawers of the safe, both of which were forced open with a jemmy. In one drawer was £4 in cash, which the burglars took. The other drawer yielded nothing except some documents, which the thieves threw on the floor. The ledgers in the gafa were not disturbed. The cracksmen were more fortunate in another direction. On a shelf in the safe they found the key of another‘ safe" which stood Jn. the. outer office. This they opened without difficulty. Again the jemmy was used on the drawers, the first of which, yielded £1 in ■ stamps. Three pennies which also lay in the drawer they dlatained to touch. The second drawer also bore marks of the jemmy, but evidently the cracksmen were disgusted -with the small haul, and left without finishing the job. They were unlucky in this,-for in the drawer was a further £lO in notes.

The two safes were. the only things touched by the burglars. They left the place by the back door, which they locked, taking the key with them. There is plenty of cover round the place, the yard of which conld be entered without difficulty from several points. Detectives visited the place this morning, but the thieves left little evidence of their visit. There was, one very nasty reminder, however. On the top of a table in the dust is the outline of a very business-like hatchet. The outline showed a haft about 15 inches long and about half an. inch thick. The blade was a small ohe, half an inch wide at its thickest part, and tapering off to a point