FOLOWS SHOTS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1931, Page 14

FOLOWS SHOTS

two men ofr speedy red car * ■H9Hk- VIGIL BY LONELY HOUSE. Auckland, Oct. 10. climax to a long chase after a high speed red car came at at one o’clock this morning, when ■detectives used revolvers before arresting brothers. The detectives and a con--1 stable kept a long and weary vigil at a r house watching and waiting for two men who eventually came furtively through the gloom. They bolted when challenged and a burst of revolver fire followed. One man dropped to the ground for safety and the other one stood stock-still. They made no resistance when’ handcuffed. A search of the house revealed an extraordinary miscellany of articles. There was blasting powder, a big quantity of geh--gnite and dynamite, detonators, explosive, a battery, and enough merchandise to stock a suburban store. - ■ . The police believe that this dramatic early morning arrest will clear up qui e a lot of mysteries. ' The arrested men were William Cole, aged 24, mechanic; and his brother, Bernard Charles Cole, aged - , labourer, both of Albany. They.appeared at the Police Court this morning on a charge of stealing in August a motor-car . valued at £535, - the property of James M Detective-Sergeant Kelly, in asking for •a remand until October 17 . said ' charges were, pending, and these had to, be inquired.into. :The detective said that he had been instructed to oppose bail. The accused, neither of whom was represented by counsel, were remanded m cus- ,• .-tody. ■ ' ’ EIGHTY MILES AN HOUR. For two.' mopths detectives have attempted > trace Mr. Martin’s car) whi ch, when lost, had covered not quite 500 miles. Several times within the last few days Detectives Packman and Hayes pave ; chased a fast red car, which is reputed to be capable of registering SO miles an hour. Several times the detectives, who were also driving a fairly fast car, were on the tail of the fugitive car, but always its .speed, was too much for them, and they had to content themselves with; .; watching the splash of red disappearing in the distance. A concentrated effort to catch the occupants of the car was made during the last two' days, and on occasions Detectives Packman and Hayes and. Constable Rushton, of Henderson, were within a few yards of the car. For two nights neither of the three police officers had much sleep, and they spent their time either in pursuit of the red car or watching a house at the foot of Waitakere Ranges, half a mile from Ranui, near Swanson. So thoroughly was the net cast to catch the car and its occupants that a. suburban mayor was last evening compelled to stop his car near New Lynn, and had the rays of a police torch flashed in his face. It was suspected that a quantity of stolen goods was being transferred from the house at Swanson to another locality. Early last evening Detectives Packman and Hayes, as well as Constable Rushton, went into hiding in a hedge at the back of the house, where it is understood the men had been living. for the past. month. Their vigil was a long .'and cold .one, but, their patience was rewarded, for at one o’clock this morning they ’saw two men creeping through the gloom toward the house. The two detectives ordered the men to halt and explain who they were. STOPPED BY SHOTS. Realising that they were trapped the men, when ten yards away from the detectives, bolted. Three revolver shots rang out. One man dropped on his stomach, and the other stood motionlees. They were handcuffed together. Neither relisted. While Constable Rushton looked after the men both detectives carried out the search of the house. They were amazed at what they found. Nearly every _ room of ..the bungalow contained a varied assortment of goods, from jars of fruit to a 200-gallon petrol drum. Two carloads of property were transported to the Central. Police Station, while later the Black Maria was used to bring two further loads. QUANTITIES OF EXPLOSIVES.. The most amazing discovery of all was the big amount of explosives in the house. In addition to an electric battery used for detonating purposes there were also found many sticks of gelignite and detonatom, and a can of gunpowder. v For twelve months the house had been unoccupied, and was -taken possession of • by the two men about a month ago. The house stands well back from the road, and - is surrounded by tall trees. Neighbours allege that the strange conduct of the two men aroused their suspicions. They state that the red car was driven home at any time between 1 and 4 o’clock in the morning, and on two occasions it did not come home until milking time. The house was unfurnished except for two bedsteads, with 4 mattresses, and hammocks. Only on one of the windows were there any curtains. The occupants evidently had a liking for detective stories, and several magazines with the intriguing name of a popular author written across the front cover, were found littered on the floor.