SYSTEMATIC COINERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1619, 10 December 1912, Page 5

SYSTEMATIC COINERS.

LONDON GANG BROKEN UP. By Telegraph— D rciiß Association—Copyright London, December 8. During October tho police discovered in a house at Earl's Court some J!10 bank notes, an eugraving plate, a water-mark plate, and a quantify of unissued notes, counterfeit sovereigns, half-sovereigns, and half-crowns, with moulds. Four men—Duncan Browne (engineer), William Byrne (bookmaker), John Watts (printer), and George Wallace (engineer) —were subsequently arrested, and after soveral remands were subsequently committed for trial' on charges of forgery and coinage. The trial has now concluded, and Browno has been sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, Byrne to seven, and Watts to tlireoj years. Wallace was acquitted on tho ohargo of forgery, but will be retried on tho charge of coining. Inspector Gough, in his evidence, said that Byrne was an Australian long-dis-tance runner. There had been a largo influx of Australian convicts to London during recent years. Byrne was recently engaged in working a oonfidence trick. His method was to drop a packet before his victim, and when tlie packet was picked up ho would eay that it contained jewels which ho was conveying to the Pope, and would declare that tho victim had been of great service to him. Later he generally managed to get i£2ooo or ,£3OOO out of his dupes. Byrne spent muoh of his time on tho Continent. Browne was associated with the famous forger, Dr. Bridgewater. Hundreds of counterfeit coins were fouad in. Browne's flat.