THEFT OF GOLD.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1921, Page 5

THEFT OF GOLD.

LOSS FROM THE SONOMA. SKILL OF THE ROBBERS. NO ADVANCE BY POLICE. By Telegraph.—Press Assn—Copyright. Received Nov. 25, 7.5 p.m. San Francisco, Nov. 24. Investigators, under Chief Detective Duncan Mathieson, of the San Francisco police, a-e unable to make any advance in determining the persons who stole 125,000 dollars in gold coin from the Sonoma’s currency tanks. The money, which had been loaded in Sydney, was not there when the steamer was docked. Chief-Detective Maadvanced the theory that the robbery was an “inside job”, and was done before the Sonoma left Sydney. Received Nov. 25, 10.20 pun. New York, Nov. 25. The New York Times’ San Francisco correspondent states that an investigation showed that the supposed burglar-proof locks on the specie tanks had been filed off, and five strong boxes containing bullion removed, after which locks which were the exact duplicates of those removed were snapped on the tanks. This precaution on the part of the robbers covered up the robbery until the Sonoma arrived, since each day the ship’s officers made an inspection of the vaults. The keys for the original locks fitted the substitutes exactly when the vaults were opened at San Francisco. The gold was consigned from Australian banks to the International Banking Corporation. According to Mr. Frederick Samuels, manager of the Oceanic Steapship Company, three of the ship’s company had keys—the captain, the first officer and the purser. These were carefully questioned, but threw no light on the situation. Captain Trask, commander of the Sonoma, said: “It is difficult to believe that members of my own crew would consent to loot their vessel. The evidence thus far gathered proves to my mind that the job involves a considerable number of men, as it would be a difficult task for even a small number of men to have smuggled so weighty treasure away in a short time, to say nothing of carrying it ashore. The job was evidently committed on the high seas after we left Hawaii. There is every indication that it was planned by persons very familiar with the ship, who knew before we reached Sydney that we were to take a large shipment of specie aboard. It has been my daily custom to inspect the condition of the specie tanks, and I invariably examined the locks and ascertained I hat everything was safe.” Captain Trask continued: “On this trip, as an added precaution, I changed my lock at Sydney. The other two locks, for which the other officers held keys, had been in use for some time.”

The correspondent adds that the Sonoma is being closely watched to prevent the possibility of the gold being removed if it is still aboard, and a further search of the vessel will be made. In connection with the robbery sea looters are suspected. They were responsible for similar affairs years ago. Ten thousand dollars were taken from the China mail liner Nile, San Francisco for Hong Kong, and the robbery was never traced. Shortly before a band of sea pirates were working with an acetylene torch, and they secured a large sum from the strong boxes of the P. and O. liner Almeda fifteen years ago., while they also robbed a box of gold by the substitution of a similar box loaded with stones. The Sonoma stopped at Pago Pago and Honolulu en route from Sydney, and arrived with more than a hundred passen-gers.—Aup.-N.Z. Cable Assn.