DARING ROBBERY

Taranaki Daily News, 13 November 1934, Page 9

DARING ROBBERY

LORRY-DRIVER ATTACKED. THOROUGHLY PLANNED CRIME. Thieves lured a lorry-driver to a shon at Annandale, Sydney, one night last week, bound and gagged him, and stole tobacco worth about £250 and £5O in money. Police were surprised at the thoroughness with which the crime was planned. The men responsible hired a shop, which they stocked with fruit and vegetables, and they took out a tobacco licence so that their victim walked into the trap unsuspectingly. t Donald James Roe, aged 26, a lorry driver, was delivering orders in Marion Street, Leichhardt, about three o’clock in the afternoon, when a man hailed him and ordered a quantity of tobacco for a shop in Parramatta Road, Annandale. Roe returned to the warehouse later in the afternoon and went to the shop in the evening. The shop had the appearance of being a prosperous small business. A man was waiting for him. “Bring in the things, and put them on the shelf at the back,” he said. Roe carried the parcel of tobacco into the shop. He had just put it on the shelf when he was seized from behind. A towel was drawn tightly over his mouth’ and eyes, and his struggles were soon subdued. He told the police that he believed three men were involved.

Roe said his legs and arms were tied with, cord and pieces of cloth. He was unable to see what was happening. The men searched his pockets and took £5O, the property of his employers. Shortly afterwards, he heard, his motor-lorry being driven away. One man stopped with him, and threatened to smash in his skull if he tried to escape or call for help. Roe was forced to lie on the floor for more than an hour before the guard left. Then he rolled-about on the floor until he loosened his bonds, but he could not get to his feet for a quarter of an hour after he was left alone. His calls for help were heard by Mr. Leslie John Dewberry and Mr. Arthur Roland Halloran. The released him from the cords that still tied his legs. Detectives soon arrived and took charge of the case. A description of the motorlorry was circulated to all metropolitan police stations within a few minutes, and it was soon found by the Petersham police in Albany Road. Most of the tobacco had been removed from it, but in their haste the thieves had overlooked some parcels.