FAMOUS PEARL ROBBERY

Hokitika Guardian, 10 November 1923, Page 4

FAMOUS PEARL ROBBERY

Milt BASIL THOMSON'S ]> fsE. THE innocent I‘OLICEMAN. Those familiar with tile daring Max Meyer pearl robbery, as it was called, in the -q ring of i!)R(, will he interested in ih story which Sir Basil Tromson, i- inCj Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department at .Scotland Yard, tells concerning their recovery in the (hr her number of ‘•The Co.-mopnli-tnn.” an American publication. It will be remembered that the ponrl necklace. valued at over £IOO,OOO, was stolen Horn the sealed packet in whii-iv it was despatched from the Rafis e-tid-ii- of Max Meyer to the Rendon establishment of tho same name, and in its place tva.s substituted small hits of coal of till- same weight as ll.f. pearls. 'l'he package was sealed in eight places, nub there was nothing to indicate that any of them had been tampered with. It was not until the most exhaustive inquiries had been made by the I’aris police, who, a- a result, were convinced that the jev . • could not hive disappeared while they were in charge of the French postal employees, that the matter was plated in the hands of Scotland Yard. Sir Basil Thomson, in recounting his part in the recovery of the pearls, tells how lie first d*reeled his attention to Hatton Garden, being convinced Dial I lie pea 11> would eventually fall into the hands of the police. “If they wendin mends." argir.-il Sir Basil, “they would have been re-cut. would have heroine uii realign i-a hie, and would soon reappoai in rings and bracelets. But pearl- ranuoi he altered in that way. Matched pea: Is such as those in ih. stolen necklace would lie known tccverv jeweller ol repute m Western I.nrop.e. sir Basil's lir-t move was to discover. from his demist, the mo-'f quick setting material that he knew', and as a result ol his experiments with a special plaster of Paris lu* discovered that within four minutes he could make a lid and reproduce Ihe seal upon Re Let mi perfectly that no member ol In- stall' I-. dll delect the (lillelellce. "It was iniportiint only because it kept ii- on the right track by assuring us that tin- package cniihl have been opened and ir-ealeil without making more' 1 flan :i few minutes’ difi'cieiice in the time "f lis delivery. As a mutter ol I'aat. tin* iv-oaliug had lid been done in the way that I imagined." A daily watch was kepi upon lialtmi Garden. and eventually the police siipirions were nairoivi-il down to loin men 1.0. kett. Gold. Grizzard. and Marks bill at no time could ike quartet he iiulneeil to conic toco! her. Ihe turn were followed with a constant (•linage of doled ivos and a gicat number of dill'.-renl disguises were Used, but apparently there was none which could deceive them. Finally, a disgui-e was derided upon which enabled a detr.-live lo approach two of the men 1,1 ihe .-I reel, overh-ar their MUivcrsntion ami learn their plans, anti as a re-.u:! (lx Ini'* I Street lube Drill'll. ’I he next d., o ihe limn who rut Ihe seal u-ed ... -a io.nl in 11 a mm- r mi l i.i am I lm i mseil frirzad rs i !■■■ man ier whom im c-.e nii".l Ihe order' 11 v.nI lie , nine, and Sdi Basil j I'occeiL to do ,i mm h in 11: ■ atautter of Slterlo*- : I! line ■ at d his i * llabarator. TALKS Yt'iTil THK I’OS'l'M \.\. "tirizznd had lieesi the one to plrin it . He I, It. 1 Ills I ist-ve. a! I line- .I -■• ' el. Ibe I.•union e-ia-blishmcid oi Ma x Mover l'ereivcd shipments hy mail Irmn rh.• i nckaeos contained d-iamimds. qiiaintaiiei'. of the po-t limn. The | osig* m e ; lie di.! liis work will,out intere t in it . and v hen n vrs ovd' lie Weill in a c riniii l.ar, where he ‘jeitl Ike greater part i.f Ins evenings. Grizz.rd been mi- lYiendh villi tin- pe.-Unrui at this bar. I.i,ter be x.-v-r.il times me, him on i lie street while the postman wa . th'livel ing his packages am! - topi cl to mil; with him. Soiimiiin s. in doing t'nis h*' ti uk trom. tho pi -1 man • hag Olio or lire packages, look.si at it. and at oiiee ivi itrm-il it lo the h rg. Ft:*

aliv in I his way he came upon a pack :g‘‘ : addie.-s;.I !-, Max .Meyct. He took a way I.id-i'-u in liN hat’.il. The "as imgraver. who unsuspiciously engaved a seal ! i 'o: respond with it. Now ganl approached the pi’-tman mo o openly . “ \V< til-! you like,' he asked, -to make tlOOr “ -£lltO!’ the pnsnunn exclaimed. It a great sum, lo him. '• ‘Ton can do it va.-ilya All you have to do is. (he next time you have a pa- 1,-age I'm- Meyer and I mod you oi; the street, hand me the package, go on. and deliver some of your other map. emue hack the same way. and yon "ill find me awaiting wit It the package where , you left me. and von ran deliver it rt j i Meyer's.' “The ) osttnau leth-eicd. It did not j seem a very serious mali.r to leave a package In ih hands of one of iiisj fiic-mls. receive it hack in a f.minutes ; ami thin i.leliver it. ‘Von won'i make J a fool of nn-r he questjotted. 'I mean, you'll surely l-o theio and give Ike j package back!"’ " Won have my wind.' said (irizzard. , “Al ter that each day izz.ard unit- j cd for 1 lie po-tinao on the stred. j Finally one day the post-bag coutan.il . a i m-kage for Max .Mcyi-i. The post-, man Immled it to (Buzzard : (it izzaid i dashed around the coiner, and up to j .Marks's shop. There Marks and Bold . wore "ailing. They quickly Ipiiila- the! seals, shook out the necklace, put into | the box scute hits ( ,f coni of tin- same l "eight, then they replaced the win; - j piitgs. brought the broken seals to- ! getlu-r. melted the wax with a hot: poker, impressed the melted "ax again with tin- .Meyer seal and Frizz,-ud hastened out again.''

MCI lETF. I) IN A A! ATCHBi LX. S j J -Sir Basil proceeds to tell of ! I made at the houses, of the lour men. of . | the discarding of the pea: I- hy ihe wife ol Lockett, who in order to save! her husband, secreted them in a ’ match-hex. and. evading the police, ; dropped the box into the gutter. “Perhaps.'' says sir Basil, "her woman's love of jewels kept he-,- front disposing j

of them so that they could never he n-. ; tow; I’d. Mct-e likely, however. -ho ‘ simply- got rid oi them in the quickest way for fear that if site ivne not home when the policy arrived, Iter absents* would he inquired into. As it was, -he got home so little before the arrival , of the police that she had not removed her hat." It is rather interesting to j think of a fortune of £llo.oo*l lying in : the gutter for the first-comer to pick . up. j “The first-comer happened to he a plumber's helper. He was on his way l-ack to the shop to get sonic tools. He had filled his pipe, hut could not light it because he had no match. Tie saw the box, touched it with his toe to dis.

cover whether it seemed full or empty, found it hoary, picked it up and shook out into his hand some of the ‘beads’. Jfe thought them imitation pearls. Still, as the newspapers had been full of some lost pearls, and the police station was not out of liis way. he stopped i:i -theie with them. The distiiet superintendent at the police station also be. lieved them to be imitations, but sent them on to Scotland Yard. I, on receiving them, did not believe them real, but sent for Mr Meyer in order to consult .in expert." Kxplaining the disguise which deceived the men while they note under oii.-ervaticn, Sir Basil says: “You have r ad fee’s story 'The f’urloined Tetter ! The letter was con con led by sticking it openly in the mist conspicuous place in the apartment. The sea relicts who ransacked the place for it. did not examine it 1 eianse they coultl not imagine that, wit ; the late of its possessor depending on liis keeping it f;om them. 1,1 ■ -..unld !-.;•• it where they wort* sure to see it. We u.-eil the same method. We disguised one of our detectives as a policeman. -V detective is a policeman disguised as a civilian. 11 ejnewher th tt these thieves knew police thill no tmifermed policeman would inassigned to watcli them, or would even bo ;;e : jtuiinted with their couueelion with the case. As (It izr.artl deliveted his timssaeo to Mark.-, they saw n uiiifo: med polh cmau standing near. It never entered their lienid.s that we wuuid haw diessed one ot our deie.tives in ;t ji :ii-• uniform in order t<' spy on ilieni."

ter; achtr-' r wrc a: k| i; I,\ V 11 AM li.TOX AND CUItl'T. LON'DtIN', kept. in. “Life is a very wonderful chain*,” General Air lan ilumiium said at the unveiling i.f a war memoiia] at Lraserburg h. A hen icon shire. yesterday. ■•Alter Id years I ‘-till think myself thrice fortunate to have been born. I liud jttsl its much to interest and astonish me in life as when ! lir-t: opened my eyes on the lonian tort which lias just been shelled by Signor .Mussolini. Yes, I was horn there, in the peaceful .island ol ('oil'll, well guarded by my father’s regiment, the (Jordon Highlanders. The (Jordons never lifted it linger to the inhabitants. It is a tradition ihat the regiment tar do these islanders to play cricket. They still play.” DIkMASTO CARRIKR. LONDON'. Sep,. 10. Dr 11. (J. Aii it is, medical oflicer of healllt lor (■’reemvich. S.K., describes in liis annual report how an out break of diphtheria wits traced to a boy who delivered milk. There were I I eases in one distiiet. : ii.l Ur Atiitis state ilia) till the families were supplied with milk from onedairy and I bat the eases wire childly on one milk round. Ibe boy who left tile cans oil this round Wits found to lie sullering from diphtheria and was taken to hospital, alter which no further ca-es occurred. KWF ' - T*CES*T KJfTfn t3S2X r .S2Trc?m