I Thought They Were Collecting Recyclables with a Handcart... The Final Fate of a Parcel Thief

Items Worth 130,000 Won Loaded Like Scrap Paper and Fled

A man who was thought to be collecting waste paper in front of a building was revealed to be a ‘parcel thief’.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 21st, on the 6th, a man identified as A was pulling a handcart through an alley in a residential area of Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, when he stole a parcel box placed on the ground in front of a building and ran away. The parcel contained goods worth approximately 130,000 won.

A person named A stealing a delivery box. Screenshot from Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's YouTube channel

Although the parcel box was packaged and distinguishable from waste paper or recyclables, A loaded it onto his handcart and calmly left. The police received a report of the stolen parcel and confirmed the suspect’s appearance through the on-site closed-circuit television (CCTV). Based on this, the police began searching the surrounding area.

A, who had stolen the parcel, was continuously moving across a wide area, and the police thoroughly searched nearby alleys. At that time, the police spotted a man resembling A’s description and immediately approached him to verify the facts. The complainant’s parcel box was found in A’s handcart.

Delivery theft prevention notice stickers attached to delivery motorcycles by Gangseo Post Office couriers under an agreement with the Seoul Gangseo Police Station. Provided by Seoul Gangseo Police Station

Under police questioning, A admitted to stealing the parcel, and the police recovered the stolen goods and arrested A.

Meanwhile, in September, a man in his 50s was also arrested by the police for stealing parcels from neighboring apartments and shops, citing stress as the reason. As incidents related to parcel theft continued, some police stations signed business agreements with local post offices. In October, the Gangseo Police Station in Seoul announced that it had established a collaborative system for crime prevention response by utilizing post office personnel and equipment familiar with the local situation. Both sides decided to make postal delivery workers a key part of crime prevention activities and crime reporting cooperation. A system was created where delivery workers can report crime-prone areas discovered during delivery work to the Gangseo Police’s Crime Prevention Division via smartphone.