Teenager arrested after contents stolen from parcels at delivery depot

A 17-year-old boy from Birmingham has been arrested on suspicion of theft from employer following a series of items being reported stolen from parcels at a delivery depot.

This follows an incident in which an employee was allegedly seen stealing a mobile phone from a parcel at the delivery depot in Atherstone where he worked.

The employee reportedly took the parcel out to the smoking area of the site, where he was allegedly seen to open the box and remove the mobile phone inside.

When challenged by another member of staff, he allegedly threw the phone over a neighbouring fence. 

The company has reported a series of similar thefts in recent weeks, which they believe may have been committed by the same person. 

The teenager has been released on bail at this time pending further investigation. 

PC Chloe Trotter said “Our communities rely on delivery services a great deal, particularly at this time of year.

“We appreciate the vigilance of staff working at the courier services against criminality, and we encourage anyone having parcels delivered to check that they’re arriving intact, and to report it to the delivery company if they are not.”

Across the county, a number of parcel content thefts have been reported over the last couple of months.

The parcels arrive having been opened with the valuable contents removed and replaced with worthless objects of a similar weight.

This has been reported from various courier services and distributors.

If you are having a valuable item delivered to you, you have the right to politely ask your delivery driver to wait while you check the contents of the parcel.

Some companies will send you a password to give to your driver as proof of delivery.

If you refuse delivery due to missing items, the delivery driver should report the reason for refusal to their company.

You should always report missing items to the retailer and the courier service as soon as possible.

If you suspect a crime has taken place, report it to police online at www.warwickshire.police.uk/report.