ILLICIT GOLD TRADE

Shannon News, 10 August 1926, Page 1

ILLICIT GOLD TRADE

THIEVES’ HUGE PROFITS RING IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA DETECTIVES’ DIFFICULT TASK Huge profits are being made . it is alleged by a number of organised gangs of gold-stealers on the Kalgoolie fields. It is freely rumoured that there is a ring of gold-buyers at, Perth, who operate secretly on a large scale. Big quantities of the illicityearned metal are said to be shipped out of the country, probably to Singapore, and it is known that some finds its way into the eastern States. .While the gold-stealers are a smaller band than one which operated previously, the' gangs ,are so well organised that they embrace men of various callings in mines, not a few of whom have fairly important positions. In smuggling gold-bearing ore from the mines, the thieves expose themselves to great risk, and it would be ridiculous to suppose that miners could carry it out successfully if others higher up did not close their’ eyes. This is regarded as the most serious aspect of illicit gold traffic* One feature of the investigations by detectives in connection with the, murder of Inspector Walsh and Sergeant Pitman, which is likely to have a lasting effect, is the astonishing revelation concerning the extent of gold stealing. Resulting from the detectives investigations in usually unfrequented spots in a search for the bodies of the victims, the police tooth-combed the gold fields. The output was the atachment of suspicion on many persons hitherto unsuspected. For years pash it has been common knowledge that if all gold went through the proper channels, the industry would not be languishing at it is; but whereas in the boom days on the fields operations were distributed among a large number of thieves, the decline in the mines has reduced the gold stealing community considerably. It must riot be presumed from this that the mines are reaping the benefit. So cunningly are schemes worked by a comparatively small number' of thieves, that the probabilities are that the mine's are losirig as much as they did in earlier days., • . Activities of Detectives In recent years, the activity of detectives, such as Walsh and Pitman, who were’ incorruptible, has added to the risk. The first hurdle—that 1 of getting gold-bearing ore from the mines—is difficult to clear. But it is rarely that the police are able to lav hands on the men who attend to this part of the business. In fact, the searching of miners, though sometimes revealing sm ( all parcels of metal seldom gives the police a clue to the source of the leakage. For that reason the detection staff generally confines its search to the, receivers, whose ingenuity is amazing. Many and varied are the. methods of getting ore from the mines. Where large quantities are coricerned, gangs Jbf several men co-operate and there is usually a medium through which the metal is passed to a receiver. It is said that if higher paid officials than the miners did not close their eyes gold could not be got from . the mines in clothing or crib bags. Three different kinds of material are stolen—tellriride, amalgam and slimes. On occasions, too, the finished product from treatment plants, disappears. It was known of one miner who used to steal what is known as ribbon gold, and used to carry strips in the roof of his mouth. Attraction of Slimes The commodity which has the greatest attraction for gold-stealers in zinc gold slimes. It is dealers- in this who get rich • quickly. It represents gold stripped of dross, and it is estimated that a sugar-bag full would contain anything between 300 to 400 ounces of gold, worth from £I2OO to £I6OO. It is in this that “big” men specialise, as it ( is easy to handle. These are the men whom the detectives have been after for years, and while records at Kalgorlie Court reveal numerous convictiions for illicit gold-stealing, there still remains enough work to keep the whole force of detectives engaged for years. The question might be asked how the men engaged in the traffic keep w>thin the law. The method is simplicity itself. Many receivers have leases of worthless shows, which occasionally yield saleable quantities of gold, but while it is obvious that the shows are dummies to connect the - gold taken from them with stolen grild is a most difficult task. These dealers send in “faked” returns to different controlling departments and in most cases, if they are not caught actually treating the ore, they can successfully evade the law.