SWEEP TICKETS RUSE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21542, 14 January 1932, Page 9

SWEEP TICKETS RUSE

NEW KIND OF “CHOCOLATE." Sweepstake tickets, packed in 13 wooden boxes labelled chocolate and envelopes, discovered in the chartroora of an Irish steamer docked at Liverpooklately, led to a prosecution of the captain and first officer. Defendants, who appeared before a Liverpool magistrate, were Timothy Augustine O’Hannahan, master of the steamer Clonlara, and Eugene O’Sullivan, first mate. They were accused of illegally importing the tickets. Prosecuting counsel stated that the Clonlara belonged to the Limerick Steamship Company of Liverpool, and when the vessel arrived on September 28 a Customs officer who had received certain information proceeded on board. In the chartroom he found a number of boxes marked “ Savoy New Milk Chocolate,’’ and two other cases marked “Manilla Envelopes.’’ The mate stated they were cargo placed in the chartroom for safety, but the officer wa£ not satisfied with this explanation, and opened the cases. The cases contained a quantity of stamped envelopes addressed to persons in England and the United States. Each envelope contained two books of sweepstake tickets and a covering letter setting out the object of a Limerick sweepstake. There were in all 7600 stamped envelopes containing 15,200 books, each book containing 12 tickets, there. being, therefore. 182,400 sweepstake tickets. When the captain was spoken to he denied knowledge of the packages. O’Sullivan accepted all responsibility, and declared that he had been asked by his brother to bring the packages to Liverpool. The tickets, explained counsel, were for a Limerick sweepstake, the prizes being books of tickets in the Irish Hospitals Sweepstake on the November Handicap, the five first prizes being 60 tickets. “ One might therefore almost describe this a being a sweepstake within a sweepstake," added counsel. “It _ might be a sort of snowball process, going on without end so long as one could get people to venture their money.”

The captain now denied any knowledge of the boxes being on board. O'Sullivan told the magistrate: “I took the stuff in without letting the captain know. I make no excuses for myself. You have said that I have deceived the captain. Well, I did deceive him.” Captain O’Hannahan was fined £2O, and O’Sullivan £5,