SMART ARREST

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 337, 26 September 1932, Page 5

SMART ARREST

(Press. Assn.-

GOOD POLICE WORK ALLEGED SAFE BLOWING ATTEMPTS AT TAKAPUNA the hurglars foiled

-By Telegrc.pli — Cccy.rlght).

Auckland, SaturdayvTwo loud explosions awakened many residents of Takapuna in the vicinity of Hauraki Road, between 1.45 and 3.30 this morning. - Safeblowers were at work. Two butcber's shops, Hellaby's, at the cor- ' ner of Hauraki and Jutland Roads, and the Auckland Meat Company's branch shop, 300 yards further west, in Lake Road, were broken into and the safe at each shop was damaged, but not opened, by gelignite charges, which were inserted in the keyholes. Bqth shops were entered by forcing the froflt doors with a j emmy . The burglars were at work at the Auckland Meat Company's shop at 1.45 a.m., for that was the time the first explosion was heard. The gelignite, on explodihg, disabled the locking device of the- safe, which is set in concrete. The safe will have to be opened- by a locksmith. Nqthing; was stolen from tbe shop. The safe at Hellaby's shop was moved from its position in the offipe to the middle of the floor before the charge of gelignite was inserted in the- keyhole. Here also the burglars were foiled, tho charge failing to burst open°the 'door. Before leaving, the intruders stole 5s in pennies from the shop till. Constable's Suspicions At 1 am., while on night duty in Devonport, Constable Butler observed two mcn in the telephone box at the corner of Victoria Road and Clarence Street, near Hellaby's shop. Their movements aroused the constable's suspicions and he continued to watch them from a distanee. However, while keeping them under observation, the constable had to leaye his hiding place for a minute or so, to deal with a woman who was intoxicated. Y/ben he returned, the two men had disappeared. Some time later, Constable Butler, hearing of the explosions caused by the safeblowers at Takapuna, proceeded there to join Constable Maloney. On obtaining a description of tbe two men seen near Hellaby's shop at Takapuna,^ and finding that it compared with his own of the two men, he commandeered a motor car and returned to Devonpoi-t. Arrests on Ferry Launch Constable Butler could not locate the suspects until 5 a.m., when they boarded the night ferry launch at the wharf steps to go to Auckland. He then found that they were the same two men he had seen loitering near Hellaby's Devonport shop. He got the watchman at Devonport wharf to ask the Queen's wharf poiice to meet the launch on this side. On arrival ' the two men were detained and later * arrested. The poiice stated this afternoon that by the arrest of the two suspects they hope to clear up another case of safeblowing a Pukekohe on Thursday night. The two suspects will appear at the Poiice Court on Monday morning.