DUMMY MINES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3769, 8 June 1926, Page 9

DUMMY MINES.

DETECTIVES’ RAIDS. SYDNEY, May 20. While the story of the war against gold stealers in Western Australia is full ol thrilling adventure, it haa not hitherto been sullied by anything approaching the savagery of the murder of the two detectives at Kalgoorlie. It may Lave been that the strik ingly ‘oleram public attitude towards the gold stealing has ordinarily deprived the business of th° desperate atmosphere which surrounds robbery. The only sensations to which the public have been treated hitherto were the surprises which the detectives sprung on gangs which were carrying on illicit gold dealing on an extensive scale. It was the practice in some cases for meu to work small plants, ostensibly mining ore drawn from their own mines, which were kept fully working. The whole business of these concerns was carried on with eveiy appearance of being above board, even to the returns of ore crushed and gold won which were supplied to the Mines Department. Everything was all right, savo the gold—which was stolen. The gangs were receivers on a large scale, cloaking their activities under the guise of respectability Two big organisations of this kind were raided by the police a few years ago. In one case the detectives secreted themselves in an abandoned hut, and with powerful glasses, kept watch on the operations of one plant day and night for a couple of months. The late Detective-sergeant Pitman, one of the men brutally done to death, waa engaged in this case. A peculiar result of the operations of theao- pseudo mines was revealed when, some years ago, the Department of Mines, in an attempt to give a fillip to prospecting, decided to furnish details from its official returns of shows that had been worked and abandoned while there was still gold in eight. It was then realised that this data would be far from reliable, as the returns of gold won from a good many mines were false, the figures given being of stolen gold and, therefore, no indication ot the possibilities of the locality.