Attempt to catch some thieves

There are naturally many problems involved in the unloading, transport and storage of large quantities of food.

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One such problem related to street urchins who had made an art of slashing bags stacked in open lorries, with blades or knives and collecting into tins the rice, flour or sugar seeping out. These acts took place in the busy Fort and Pettah areas when lorries had to travel slowly or be completely halted due to traffic jams. We managed to get the presence of some extra policemen in the more vulnerable areas. Sometimes problems arose due to corruption in the police itself. On one occasion, I received information that a whole lorry load of flour had been slipped out of the Port without documentation. My informant gave me details and said that the flour had been unloaded into a godown in the Pettah, but that we should act fast because very soon the stock would be dispersed. He also told me that the officer in charge of the Pettah police station had been bribed and that investigations should not be handed over to that station. In many instances, whe