MAIL PILLAGED.

Wairarapa Age, 10 November 1927, Page 5

MAIL PILLAGED.

REGISTERED PACKETS STOLEN. , 1 DISCOVERY AT AUCKLAND. ■ AUCKLAND, November 9. ; A bag of English mail, which ] reached Auckland on Tuesday, was ; found to have been cut open and a i number of packages, some of considerable value, stolen. The bag was ione of a consignment of 321 bags of English, Eastern and Australian mail brought to Auckland from Sydney by the Mararoa. The theft was carried out in such a mannjr that it was not apparent until the bag reached its final destination. Leaving the seals and fastening intact, thd thief had. cut a long slit near the mouth of the tag -and then abstracted the contents through the opening. The slit was hidden in the folds of thd neck of the bag in such a way that it would pass unnoticed unless the bag were subjected to a minute examination. The bag contained London to Auckland mail, including a smaller bag of registered matter. The robbery was not discovered until the bag was opened in the Chief Post Office. It was then seen that the contents of some of the packages had been abstracted and the contents of orhens, as well as addressed empty covers, were lying loose at the bottom ofl the bag. I The contents of two package< of al valuable nature were stolen, but tho postal officials are reticent as to what these packages contained. The owners of some of the pillaged; packages were! known by the addresses on the covers, but it is probable that a number of packages were taken by the thieves intact and it will be a long time before it is known what number of packages the bags originally contained. It is thought that the robbery took place on the high seas while the mail was in transit between England and Auckland. Exactly where, however, is problematical because of the number ofl times the mail had to bo handled during the different stages of the journey. The thief or thieves possibly had somd inside knowledge when they picked out and cut opeir a 'bag that contained another one with registered matterThere was nothing on the outside bafj to indicate what its contents were.—• (P.A.).