Page 221 - PERSIAN 9 1941_1947
P. 221

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         It only remains to odd that tho year was on# 0f the severest
         fa ml no on record.
                    At tho olooa of ' 194a ? groat excitement was oauaod

         by an R.A.Y. roport of light • ha Ting boon toon signalling towards
         tho sea at Jank.     Tho Senior naval officer wished this to bo
         examined immediately In view of the possible danger to convoys,
         and I paid a visit inootfiito to the scene ty air with Hr•Rogers
         who later returned to make a fuller Investigation.      His rsseArches,

         together with those of certain other agente who were despatched
         from different directions, eventually disclosed that the suspicious
         circumstance a were susceptible of imocent explanations,       Tho

         suspicious flickering of the lighthouse was found to be almost
         certainly due to the person In charge stealing the kerosene.
         The Yerey lights which had been seen eventually turned out to
         have been fired by R.A.F. personnel at a byataa.      The mysterious

         signalling which had been seen inshore was discovered to bo the
         mutual rocotuition signals given each other with torches by tho
         night patrols of the Persian Gendarmerie so that they might evade

         contact with the local Baluchis of thorn they moved in considerable
         dread.    As a result of this and as part of a general tightening
         up a complete coast-watching system was put into fores whloh' very
         soon produced useful fruit in the best capture of pirates of
         vftxlch vo have record for mazy years,    This is recounted in tho

         next paragraph.
                    In April, acting on a report from H.V. Consul, Bandar
         Abbas, a British naval patrol vessel captured an armed dhow

         lfaioh had been committing piracies off the Jask coast under the
        notorious Persian Baluchi pirates Husain bin vurad and his brother.
         The oaptured-,vessel together with lte orew end their weapons were
        mode over to the Persian authorities, ^rtxo ssntsnosd the ringleader

         to imprisonment for life and his followers to varying tens of
        imprisonment* While seme of ths pirates died of starvation in \
        prison before the trial took plooo. Tho capture woo givoa

        publicity in tho Portion and Indian Proto and over tho AU-lndla,
                                                          /Tehran
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