SMUGGLING GOLD AWAY.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 March 1920, Page 5

SMUGGLING GOLD AWAY.

FIJIANS ARRESTED IN AUSTRALIA. By Telegraph.—Press Assn Copyrllht. Eeceived March 5, 10.10 p.m. Sydney, March 5. The Customs have confiscated sovereigns, gold and jewellery valued at £9OO, found in the possession of five Indians from Fiji, who were attempting to leave Australia. The gold represented live years' savings on the plantations. This is tho first case of confiscation since the proclamation prohibiting the export of gold was issued in 1915.—Au5.NX. Cable Assn.

DISCOVERIES IN SYDNEY. CUSTOMS OFFICIALS VIGILANT. Sydney, Feb. 27A careful examination of official returns shows that gold «{<ntinues to trickle away from this country, and has been doing so for a long time. This is a very serious matter, and in the past (year or two the Customs officials have redoubled their vigilance. Persons leaving for other countries are liable to be subjected to a close and somewhat humiliating search. Tho tendency of Asiatics to smuggle gold away is well known, and Chinese leaving for the East are generally watched carefully, but the scrutiny has now been extended to cover certain Europeans. The departing traveller may not take away more than £4O in gold, and it would seem that those preparing for departure are kept under some sort of supervision, because only an individual here and there is selected for search when a steamer is about to leave, and he generally is found "with the goods." When the Japanese liner Tango Mam was about to leave Sydney last Friday two men were searched. The flm one did not take to it kindly. Every bag and trunk was opened and closely inspected. Sovereigns were extracted from the gentleman's collar-box, from inside his slippers, from secret pockets in his clothes, even from the bottom of a well-filled cigar box. A couple of boxes of Rweets were opened, and each sweet unrolled from its paper in the se«r.:i> for coins. The officials even dug into a tin of boot polish, while the helpless owner looked on and fumed. The,, search was a highly successful ono. About 150 sovereigns were taken from a variety of hiding places and formally taken possession of. They will (form the mibject of legal proceedings, and will probably d'sappear mostly in fines. Another man on th* same steamer similarly "lost" a largn sum in gold. He had not sought to hide it, however, and the Custom's m»n to;>l; him completely by surprise.