New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-11-27
THIEVES $4,000 HAUL.
Lead Found to Have Been SUBJ
Stituted for English Specie.
LOSS TO CREDIT LYONNAIS
Gold Was in Two Boxes, Con.
signed from London to Egypt,
Via Bremen and Trieste.

London, Nov. 2Z-For some days the
police Of London have been inquiring
into a mysterious specie robbery. The
sum involved is $4,000. which formed
part Of a consignment of S1,0OO,0OC
from London to Alexandria by the
Credit Lyonnais. On November II the
London branch Of the Credit Lyonnais
rendered the Bank Of England check
for $1,0O0,000 and received in return
sovereigns and half sovereigns packed
in forty boxes, each containing $4,000.
The money was counted and weighed
before being placed in the boxes. and
each box was sealed with eight seals Of
the Credit Lyonnais in the presence OF
two representatives of that bank, one
representative of the Bank Of England
and member of the firm of Keller,
Wallis & Co., the shippers.
The forty boxes were placed in a van
shippers and armed detectives and
taken to st. Katherine's dock, where
they We're handed over to the captain
of the Argo Steam Navigation Com
pany's steamer the Schwalbe, who
signed the bill Of ladlng and personally
superintendent the placing Of the boxes
I'm the strong room of the ship.
At Bremen the boxes were handed TO
the German postal authorities ana
placed on a train for Trieste, but be-
fore being arranged in the guards van
each was weighed and found to be cor
rect. the scale turning at 30 POUNDS.
From Bremen 10 Trieste Is a Journey
Of twenty-six hours, and the gold
passed through the hands Of different
authorities, although it remained in
the same van. 1t had been placed in
charge of no fewer than five guards.
Nothing unusual was noticed in the
condition Of the boxes at Trieste, where
they were shipped on the steamship
Helioan, of the Austrian Steam Navi-
cation Company, and delivered on No
vember IS at Alexandria. The seals
were apparently intact and no mark
of substitution was visible. Each iron
bound box, with it's regulation cord
handle, bore the letters of the bank
&C. L." with distinguishing number,
and there was no sign that the bottom
Of the boxes had been tempered with.
In word, nothing occurred to arouse
suspicion.
When the boxes, however, were be-
ing moved the attention Of one OF the
bank officials was attracted TO an UNI
usual rafting noise. The work OF re-
moval was at once stopped and rep
Of Lloyds sent for. the
boxes were then opened on the quay
and II was discovered that the two TO
which attention had been attracted
were filled with lead
The city police and the heads of the
postal and police authorities on the
Continent were communicated with by
cable, but, so far, although dozens of
detectives have had the inquiry in
hand, there have been no results.
Two theories have been advanced
one that the boxes were forced open,
the contents distracted, the lead sub
stituted, and then resealed, and an
other that two boxes with forged seals
were substituted on the journey
Germany. The police have
satisfied themselves that the theft oc-
CURED on the journey from Berlin to
when the boxes were under
the care Of the German or Austrian
postal authorities.