THIEVES' SKILL

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 145, 23 June 1930, Page 8

THIEVES' SKILL

BIG MELBOURNE HAUL

LOSSES UP TO £9500

(From "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY, 12th Juno Unusual skill and daring were displayed by the gang that entered the establishment of King and Co., of Bourke street,1 Melbourne,, and stole- diamond' jewellery estimated',to be worth up to £9500. All efforts to trace the thieves have been in vain, and now a reward of £1000 has been offered. The reward will bepaid in proportion to the amount of jewels returned.. fThe police are concerned because-there have been many safe robberies in the city, and in every case the perpetrators have escaped. However, the reward is not being offered by the Government. Apparently the thieves who entered the premises of King and Co. had closoly studied the habits of the nightwatchman and the character of the safe upon which the successful attack' was made. If the big doublo doors of the safe had been interfered with an- alarm would have gone direct to police headquarters. The gang was clearly aware of this and left the doors severely alone. The safe is divided into four compartments, and it is significant that the thieves entered that compartment which contained diamonds, which represented more than half the valuo of the goods contained in the safe. The, gang cut a hole in the roof of the specially constructed compartment that contained the safe, and the work of cutting through a steel plate at "the back of the safe— a plate that was nearly half,an inch thick, must have occupied cpnsiclorablb time To reach other portions of the safe similar holes would have been necessary, and these were not attempted. It is believed that the thieves must have commenced operations soon after the shop was closed and • before the nightwatchman came on • duty. This strengthens the belief that the gang must have known that the watchman did not come on duty until 10.30 o 'clock —certainly never earlier. The watchman did not discover the robbery until 12.30 a.m., by which time the thieves were well clear of the building. That they should leave not the slightest trace of their identity, even though the police were quickly on the scene, suggests that tho^gang was composed' of experts who were responsible for other "clean" jobs in the city during the same week.