Civil Guard Arrests Four Couriers for Selling Stolen Packages Online

The Civil Guard has arrested four individuals suspected of misappropriating numerous packages, mostly containing technological devices and mobile phones, in the Valencia and Alicante areas.

The operation 'Herme 5' was initiated following a complaint from a delivery company. The first arrest was a company employee accused of continuously stealing packages over several years, particularly technological items. Officers tracked the sale of these items online and identified a profile created with false information by the suspect on an online marketplace, as detailed by the Civil Guard in a statement.

After gathering evidence, it was confirmed that the employee had direct access to the packages and was selling new and sealed items. She was arrested on March 3 at her workplace in Puerto de Sagunto, and following a search of her home in Bétera, 16 mobile phones, 32 pairs of trainers, technological equipment, clothing, and branded glasses were seized, valued at approximately 30,000 euros. Broken seals and lists of names obtained from the company's database since 2016 were also found.

Parcel companies and investigators suspected that there might be "more fake profiles" on the web application for buying and selling, prompting the Civil Guard to launch a "more thorough" investigation, discovering two key points of package disappearance: one in Paterna and another in Manises.

Another web profile was detected on a second-hand goods application, potentially linked to the disappearance of multiple shipments, mainly technological devices. After analysing the digital footprint, it was found that the profile belonged to a delivery company employee who had been selling such products for years.

A study of the courier and his 'modus operandi' revealed that the suspect might "not only be forging signatures of those supposed to receive the packages but also had manipulated the GPS tracking system of the delivery van" to make it "easier" to take the shipments home undetected by company controls.

Once the 'modus operandi' was discovered, officers proceeded to arrest the courier on April 8 at the Paterna office and took him to his home, where the judicial committee awaited to conduct a search.

During the inspection, they found stamps stolen from the parcel company, as well as other materials prepared to forge shipments, a "large quantity" of new sealed merchandise, mobile phones, and technological equipment, in addition to prohibited weapons, such as a crossbow pistol and several knives. All seized items are valued at over 10,000 euros.

Subsequently, it was noted that not all the missing mobile phones were found in the last search conducted in Paterna, so, using mobile phone tracking techniques, another courier related to the incidents was located.

Consequently, the investigating officers went to the Manises delivery hub, where they arrested the courier who, at the time of arrest, was carrying one of the mobile phones stolen from the delivery companies.

Later, the officers, along with the detainee, went to her home and conducted a search, seizing 13 mobile phones and much technological equipment, all completely new and originating from the package thefts. After the arrest, officers recovered seven more mobile phones that the courier had given to various people in her circle.

Finally, a new study was conducted, this time focusing on a point where 18,500 euros in mobile phones had disappeared. As it was a logistics centre distributing to various delivery offices across the Valencian Community, investigators tracked the mobile phones. Specifically, they detected that one of the workers was diverting packages to later appropriate them, leading to his arrest on June 3 in the Alicante town of Monforte del Cid.

The operation concluded with four people arrested, three home searches, and approximately 50,000 euros worth of mainly technological material recovered, pending analysis to verify each legitimate owner.

The proceedings were submitted to the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 1 of Sagunto, Paterna, and Quart de Poblet.