CONTRABAND CHECK

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20133, 30 December 1939, Page 10

CONTRABAND CHECK

BRITISH CONTROL WORK LAST WEEK’S FIGURES (Eire. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 9 a.in. RUGBY, Dec ?8. The Ministry of Economic Warfare states that on December 26 there were 48 neutral ships in the three contraband control bases in the United Kingdom, of which 21 had been there for five days or less. During the week ended December 23 the contraband committee considered many cargoes of ships which had arrived since the previous week. In nt> case was an entire cargo seized and in 89 cases the entire cargoes were released. The system under which advance copies of manifests of cargoes are received and considered before the ships’ arrival in the ports of Britain resulted, during the week under review, in 27 cases being so dealt with. Twenty-four of these ships were released subject merely to the formal checking of the original manifests on their arrival at the control bases. According to a Paris message the contraband control of the French Navy held up 16 ships and intercepted 40.000 tons of goods destined for Germany during the week ended December 24. France so far has intercepted 402,000 tons of German-bound merchandise since the beginning of the war.