Modern Smuggling.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17994, 12 April 1930, Page 13 (Supplement)

Modern Smuggling.

ty F smuggling is no longer carried on I with the adventure and romance that 0 surrounded it in the old days, it has taken many generations lo impress any considerable number of persons with the idea that trading in contraband goods is wrong; to this very day the illegality of smuggling is recognised rather than the immorality. Yet, the way of the modern smuggler is hard and Customs dodging is a Furtive, Unromantic BusinessNowadays there are no gangs of picturesque smugglers on our coasts, hut still the increasing battle of wits goes on between the authorities and the evaders or taxes, writes an English correspondent. With modern appliances such as motor cars, motor launches, yachts and even aeroplanes, offering formerly unknown facilities for the transference of goods, smuggling is carried on in a manner and to an ex'ent little known by the general public. Before the old Coastguard which kept day and night vigil was abolished, and a very much smaller body called the Coast Watchers took its place, every inch of coast was under vigilant eyes. There were thousands of Coastguardsmen, with tele- • scope lo the eye or under the arm, patrolling the lonely cliffs, always alert and never failing in their duty. They had their Regular Beats Llko Policemen, and no smuggler could escape their vigilance. Indeed, there were no smugglers except a few who managed to evade ordinary Customs officials, and as there was no smuggling the Government decided that there should be no Coastguards. Men who had been for years in the Navy and were serving as Coastguardsmen were told to go into private seclusion. An attenuated less expensive organisation was formed, and the Coast Watchers came into existence. Owing however to the smallness of their numbers it is impossible for ihe Coast Watchers to watch the coasfThey do their best, undoubtedly, but the area which a man is now supposed lo cover is so vast that, adequate. Supervision is Out of the Question. Miles of coast aro open to any smuggler, who likes to approach our waters. There is nothing to stop a man from chartering a motor boa*t loading it with contraband at. a Continental port, and landing the whole cargo at. some quiet pari, of the English or Scottish coast, or even in a harbour, without being seen or arousing anyone’s suspicion. This is what is going on to-day. It is known that foreign boats are being met by smugglers a few miles out at ■ sea and. contraband is being put on board. Tha

Landing Goods by Plane.

small crafts tb.en return unmolested to the coast to make a highly profitable deal. The most up-to-date method employed by the modern smuggler is to land “duty free" goods by aeroplane. The advantages of this plan are obvious- In Sussex, for instance there are wide stretches of lonely downland where an Aeroplane Can Land Unobserved. From the ’plane “the stuff” is transferred to a car which runs along the short grass for a mile or two and then turns on to tha high road. After that, who is to challenge it? Many of the South Coast residents are aware of” what is going on, but the old smuggling tradition still holds, and none of them ever seems to think of giving information lo the authorities. Many thousands of pounds are lost to ihe revenue every year owing to the ingenuity and recklessness with which these amazing efforts to defeat the prohibition laws arc conducted —even by adventurous women, some of whom use their own yachts—but a goodly number fall into the net of the Coast Watchers or the Customs officials. This is proved by the fact that last year no fewer than 8201 seizures of smuggled goods were made, including large quantities of spirits and tobacco and that 3431 persons were Convicted of Smuggling and mulcted in penalties amounting in the aggregate to £17,788. The amount of smuggling by tourists is comparatively small and does not entail a serious loss of revenue. It is for thosa who make a constant business of smuggling that a constant watch has to be kept. They are always trying new dodges but as a rule these are quickly discovered—even clever ruses which depend for their success on collusion between the smugglers and persons in London are very often frustrated by the Customs sleuthsWomen are more subtle than men in their methods of smuggling, but their efforts generally end in a tearful collapse and a plea to he permitted to Pay the Duty and Go. But there is another and no less serious aspect of smuggling which engages the attention of the authorities. Undesirable aliens arc not infrequently smuggled into England. They arc dumped on our unprotected coasts without any Coastguardsmen or other organisation to stop them. These aliens have always plenty of money; some of them are returned deportees and to find their whereabouts is one of those difficult tasks to which only the skill and ingenuity of Scotland Yard detectives is equal, _ /