STOLEN CARS.

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19460, 27 December 1934, Page 9

STOLEN CARS.

95 PER GENT RECOVERED. i? ■GANGS SMASHED UP. Apart from smashing up five gangs of motor vehicle thieves and swindlers, whose systems and operations were characterised by a daring cuning hitherto unknown in Australia, the Sydney C. 1.8. Motor Squad, comprising Detective-Sergeant Lionel Bowie and Detectives Golding, Scholtz, Deudney, Buchanan and Tolley, has in the past record yeas' recovered stolen cars, lorries and motor cycles valued at £ 150,4 50. The 1085 motor vehicles reported to (he squad us stolen were worth £102,750, and 1043 of them —95 percent—were recovered. The C. 1.8. motor squad is the only one of the several branches of specialists controlled by Superintendent Prior which does not change its personnel. Every member of the squad is an expert in motoring affairs, and so far this year they have arrested i'O men, covering 58 charges of car stealing, 20 of false pretences, or conspiracy relating lo stolen cars, four of illegally using, and to of breaking, entering and stoning motor vehicles. Di ring the year seven .Helen Interstate cure were recover J d cv Hie squad, the most cwtsl unu-ig case being Hie conviction of an inters! Ho thief who sLolc ears in Melbourne

and disposed of them in Sydney, and vice versa. A Clever Swindle. One of the cleverest swindles cleared up by Detective Bowie and his men culminated in the conviction of three men engaged in a clever “stunt" of buying a cheap ear on the hirepurchase agreement system, ia Sydney, then trading it as deposit on a better car at Newcastle, returning to Sydney, and disposing of it for cash | In many instances, therefore, for an outlay of only £2O, the gang clearl ed as much as £2OO profit on each deal. Other cases included those concerned with the stealing of cars used for the purpose of committing a long series of robberies in the northern and eastern suburbs. The past year has seen the motor squad introduce science to its actK vities, and in many cases, with the aid of a secret chemical, the officers deciphered chassis numbers which had seemingly been completely obliterated. The motor squad has no fixed hours of duty, and it is common for the detectives to work through the night in (heir efforts io locale cars while their owners soundly sleep. The squad is also a kind of court of arbitration for motor buyers who suspect that all is not well with their transactions. The police of the whole State, apart from the squad, has been responsible this year for it arrests in connection with stolen cars, and this month alone eight men have been arrested by the State police investigating car thcfls.