One law enforcement source said there were 'millions of [illegal] items in the post' as gangs spotted the lack of security in the postal system.

The couple wrote to each other almost every day, with the postal system and the difficulties of placing long-distance telephone calls sometimes leading to frustration.

In the first place, they worried that its sheer volume was threatening to swamp the army postal system.

The card has a second, recent postmark, which suggests that it was rediscovered lately and put back into the postal system.

Retired generals and brigadiers run the tax authority, the postal system and the housing department.