FORGERY RING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26350, 3 January 1947, Page 3

FORGERY RING

OPERATIONS IN GERMANY FLOOD OF BOGUS DOCUMENTS Secret printing presses in Germany are turning out a flood of bogus travel permits and official documents for sale to soldiers seeking illegal leave, to displaced persons wishing to move out of Germany, and to German civilians masquerading as Allied nationals, reports S. L. Solon in the News Chronicle. , , , _ They are being operated by Germans in collusion with corrupted military personnel. The military authorities suspect that the manufacturing centre is at Hamburg, in the British zone. Displaced persons and deserters are believed to be involved in the forgery ring which has it branches or counterparts in all the other zones. Direction of Master Mind

Occasional arrests have been made, but investigators believe that the forging activities, which are of necessity highly centralised, are still going on under direction of a master mind who has eluded capture. The arrests were of men using the documents rather than those who are making and selling them. I have seen false ration books and false inter-zonal travel permits as well as leave papers The British officer sitting opposite to me in the Nord express which was carrying a full complement of British military police to Germany was travelling on false papers. “ This military pass and the ticket for this train are forged, he told me. "I’ve travelled to England on them, had leave, and am how going back They were bought in Hamburg. Officials and military guards have examined them, and stamped them, and I have moved on. Not one has 5 Th e lon Smcer Cm 'a former Scotland Yard man is investigating the traffic in forged documents for the Briiish Al The manufacture and sale of raise military passes is only one aspect of a trade in all sorts of forged papers which is going on. Another officer told me: Germany today lives in such a storm of forms, permits and other documents that it is almost impossible for any person to be informed about them all. The resuit is that forgery becomes easy. Diversity of Passes •• Border guards and military police are required to examine an incredible diversity of passes issued by a hundred agencies in four zones and as many languages, so even poor imitations get past them." The over-all German census designed to aid the authorities in fixing" the population, and to combat movements on false papers. The situation is chaotic and until steps are taken to simplify and centralise the issue of permits and passes the field will remain wide open to the German forger and the unscrupulous Allied adventurers who work with him. The dispersal of many small military' units and military Government officials over the zone on “special tasks ” make the acquisition of forged passes for brief, unauthorised “ home ” leave easy and. for a certain type of mind, attractive. Investigators are seeking to find out how far underground Nazi elements are participating in. or taking advantage of, the traffic.