STRANGE STORY.

Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15360, 8 October 1923, Page 6

STRANGE STORY.

MARINER AND HIS MONEY.

SUGGESTION. OF "DOPE."

Two years: ago,.'a:.sea captain landed hvSydney worth"£2soo. To-day he is absolutely destitute and a nervous wreck. How he came to lose his money makes what is said to be one of the most- amazing "dope" stories ever handled by the police. P For two years,, it is believed, he has been more or less under the influence of a drug, taken from place to place around Sydney and in the country, always " closely watched, and gradually his life's savings have dwindled away. The police have not the slightest reason to doubt the story told, them,. .... Experienced Mariner.

The captain, who is now in his fifties, is a native of Newfoundland, and had extensive maritime experience in the Atlantic trade, as well as serving under the British Admiralty. When peace was declared he was engaged by the Norse Copra Co., of Norway, to watch their plantation interests in the New Hebrides. . While there he secured a property at Vila. From the New Hebrides the captain was commissioned by his Arm to go to New Guinea, and then come on to Sydney.

It was here that he met a man—about 10 years younger than himself —who is alleged to have brought about his downfall. He arranged for the purchase of a schooner here, and paid £SO as a deposit, but was compelled to wait until the vessel had made a trip to Tasmania. He stayed at leading hotels in the city, and at one of them confided to a stranger that he was looking for cattle to take to his property in New Guinea. The man gained the captain's confidence by talking about stock, and the two became friendly. Hazy Recollection.

The victim has only a hazy idea of what occurred from then on. In support of the "doping" story he mentioned something about a white powder. His money began to dwindle away on an average of £2O a week. In addition to what he possessed when he landed in Sydney he received £SOO from his sister in Boston. The captain, according to the police story, gave the stranger power of attorney over his possessions. Police Inquiries.

A prepossessing young woman also became concerned in the case, it is said. Houses were rented In various suburbs.

The police had their suspicions, and were trying to locate the mariner with the assistance of an official of a shipping company In Sydney who knew him.

A letter was received from his wife in England while the inquiries were going on, and these came to a head when the official received a letter from th'e captain. In it he wrote that he wanted "to go home"—to England or Boston. He asked the shipping man to find him a boat. The reply drafted was at the dictation of the police, and led to the appearance of the captain, accompanied by a young woman, lie could not give a coherent story of ,his experiences, but took them to a place in North Sydney. Later the police detained a man and woman. The mariner was in a pitiable plight, but belongings stored by him at Bedfern two years ago were recovered by the police: " ~ .