Ransom note sent for stolen code machine

Wednesday 13 September 2000 00:00 BST

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A mysterious letter has been sent to a museum official by someone claiming to possess the Second World War Enigma encoding machine that was stolen in April.

The machine, worth about £100,000, is one of only threeremaining examples of the machine used by German forces to send top-secret messages. Itwas stolen from Bletchley Park, near Milton Keynes - the wartime Station X where decoding was done.

The letter, which police say is typed in unusual language on an old-fashioned typewriter, claims the author bought the Enigma "innocently and in good faith", and asks the museum for reimbursement in exchange for its safe return. It was addressed to the Bletchley Park Trust director, Christine Large, and is signed in a secret code.

Police described the letter as significant, and urged theauthor to make further contact.

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Ransom note sent for stolen code machine

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