BURGLARS ELUDE THE POLICE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 11, 6 October 1937, Page 7

BURGLARS ELUDE THE POLICE

■Press Associatlon.)

Six-Storey Office Block Ransacked MANHUNT FAILS

(Bj Telegfaph-

f WELLINGTON, Last Night. J The police formed a cordon round a| huilding in Courtenay Plaee and car'ried out a juaahunt in the heart of Weliingtott in the early hours of this mOrning after the nightwatchmaa had disturhed "burglarfl in the aet of tansaeking the sis-storey block of ofllces known as Courtenay Chambere. The thieves made good their eseape -nith more than £6(5 in money of which, how> ever, a considerable proportion tras m cheques. Before they left they had broken open the doors of most of the offiees afld turfied out the contents of desks and drawers. f The burglary is the latest of h series of robheries of business premises in Courtenay PlaCe and other parts of the city. It is only two months since ihe previous burglary took place in the same buildiug. When John Sheedy, the nightwatcnman, entered Courtenay Chambers about 3 a.m. te-day in the course of his nightly rounds Of various city premisel he heard movements in a Toom on the first floor, The marauders, however, had evidently heard him flrst and ^ at on.ce made ofE to the rear of the buildiug. Sheedy at oace gave the alann and police surrounded the building and caTried out a systematic search. Wnile some urere plaeed at vantage pointa prhere anyone who left the building eoqld be iutefcepted othera Wett1 through the buildiug xoom by room Phey found nobody, but there were nnple indications that thieves had been busy the greater part Of the night, From the first floor to the sixth loors had been forced, marks of jemnies, broken loeks, splintered woodrork and brokeu glaea panes showing ihe methods used to gain access to the >ffices/> Inside the desks had been forced and the contents of cupboards md drawers lay strewn haphazard I ibout the floor. In those offiees where there wer« eafes these had been tampered with nlthough in most cftses they proved too much for the marauders. To-day the occupants of the building devoted most of their time to cleaniug up the havoc left ift their offiees, Detectives were investigating aud when the early arriv* als went to work a constable was still jon guard at the door. ' The thieves igaored a good deai of valuable warea and objects with definite cash value and apparently concentrated on money. Their lack of equipment for breaking safee and their .crude craftmanship gives the impresfsion that the job was done by amateurs 'or possibly youths with small experiience of burglary. The premises of iDyes and Chemicals in this building 'wete previously entered on July 30 land about the same time burglaries jtook plaee at other shops in the neigh[bourhoo.d.