New York Is H.Q. Of Gold Smuggling

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 16, Issue 28, 4 December 1950, Page 8

New York Is H.Q. Of Gold Smuggling

Gold smuggling from the U.S.A. to Asia has become a big business. The operational methods of the racket have been spotlighted by the arrest of Charles Manning, a Polish born Australian, and Manfred Fleigel, an, American, who were about to board a plane from New York for Bombay. United States Customs agents found that the Australian had several brief cases with secret compartments containing strips of gold. The American had similar brief cases, and wore large shoes with gold concealed in hollow soles and heels. This smuggling racket involves a chain of operators and manipulators stretching from New York to the Orient, with intermediate stations in the Middle East, Tangier and the Low Countries. It is apparently linked with another major smuggling venture, which brings diamonds into the U.S.A. Soviets Suspected There is a strong suspicion in America that the Soviets have something to do with the matter: Soviet spies are reported to draw their payment often in actual gold, but some of it is believed to be black market gold from America rather than gold from Moscow. A long-established New York jeweller stated: “Gold may be legally sold only to licensed dealers, who in turn may sell it only to licensed jewelers. “The official price set by the Government is 35 dollars an ounce. But there are jewellers who rig their books and part with gold at a premium. “It takes a lot of money to buy a sizeable quantity of black market gold. Usually several ‘boys’ join in a buying syndicate to make a common investment.

“Then an operative takes the gold to Europe or Latin America or Asia. “He gets at least twice as much on the black market there, often 100 dollars or more.”