SPIES ON LINER

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 257, 31 October 1939, Page 8

SPIES ON LINER

SUICIDE ATTEMPT WHEN CORNERED Three suspected spies were taken oft the crack Dutch liner Nieuw Amsterdam during a search by the British Navy, reported the liner’s passengers as they landed at Amsterdam last month. An Austrian woman on board volunteered information against another passenger suspected of being a spy. After investigation the man was defin itely linked with the German espionage ring. Caught in the Act He at once tried to commit suicide by slashing his throat with a razor, but was saved by medical attention. Another alleged German spy was arrested by a British naval intelligence officer while the man was attempting to hide some documents in a broken plumbing fixture. One of the men detained had made himself conspicuous on the voyage by ; frequently singing the British and i French National Anthems and telling j his fellow-passengers he wanted to enlist in the Royal Air Force. The third I suspect, who claimed to be a Germani Jewish refugee, turned out to be act- ! ing as an intermediary in a deal which | would have netted the Germans 1500 [ tons of American copper. I The scale of the Navy's contraband I measures can be judged by the passenI gers’ reports that there were 50 ships lat anchorage undergoing inspection I when the Nieuw Amsterdam was being I inspected. I Armed bluejackets were stationed on | the decks of the Dutch liner, appar•entiy to stop anybody who might try I to jump overboard and swim ashore. | From 7 p.m. the ship had to maintain I a complete black-out. j The ship’s officers were warned that ' no attempt should be made to move the ship under cover of darkness, as it would be endangered by possibly moving into a mined area. In any case, it would certainly be picked up by a British man-of-war again. Well '‘Combed Some of the British boarding officers were not yet in uniform, but they carried regulation service automatic revolvers and were accompanied by bluejackets carrying rifles with bayonets

fixed. The search lasted three days and the ship was combed from bridge to engineroom. A complete examination of the cargo and all suspicious-looking baggage, as well as the passengers’ and crew's quarters, was carried out. Besides the spies, 34 German stewards were also taken off, said the passengers. Finally, the liner was allowed to sail for Rotterdam on a course charted by the British Admiralty. This lay through minefields and two British destroyers accompanied the ship on part of its journey.