A FRENCH AZEFF.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9424, 21 April 1909, Page 7

A FRENCH AZEFF.

An Azeff in a small way has been discovered at Bnghien. He was only a local police official, and he engineered not bomb explosions and terrorist outrages, but merely peace* iul burglaries. But Enghien is not in Russia, and within this limited scope the French Azatf did his .best. He had been in the police at Enghien for some time, and had nothing to -do. Bnghien was only too peaceful and law-abiding. The police wondered what they were there for, and feared their job would lapse owing to the slack times, Luckily, one'Duval turned up, who had just come out of prison, having landed there through the treachery of an informer. Having learnt by experience how successful an informer’s business was, he thought of taking up that line himself, and made inquiries. “Excellent.” said the local police official. “Precisely what we want is to wake up this place a bit. There is no crime to speak of at Enghien .just now, and we of the police are spoiling for a job. We don’t want murders or antyhing of that sort. We don’t want to overdo it. 'But a good burglary would be an excellent thing. If'you should happen to hear of any we shall he grateful to the , tune of 6s 6d a day.” Verb, sap., thought Duval, A few days later a fine burglary was committed, or, at least, attempted, at Enghien. The house of Duval’s own grandfather was broken by three men. There was to have been a fourth, Duval himself, but at the last moment ha unaccountably’ did not turn op at the trysting-plaoe, and instead the police came—the Enghien police, horning for a job. The three men arrested seemed rather sore about the,business when examined, and said that Duval had himself engineered the whole thing, and had then hot only backed out, but warned the police. Dnval, on this information, was arrested also, but was righteously indignant. Not for himself, but for the police, had he worked on this job. He had offered his services as informer, and asked what he should do. “Find out a good burglary,” was the reply. He had.found 6ne, and thus done his duty. The police officer in his turn was called and asked for an explanation. He denied very lamely that he had urged Duval to procure a burglary for the benefit of the Enghien police, but bis explanations were unsatisfactory, and the result is that the Azeff in a small way has been dismissed.