MORE THAN 1,000 items of stolen correspondence were found during a raid at the home of a courier used by the post office service in Lisbon this week. The alarm was raised by the CTT (the national postal service) following the reported disappearance of various items during the distribution process, leading the police to undertake a two-month long investigation.
A 30-year-old driver, working for a private courier firm used by the CTT in the Lisbon area, was placed under surveillance due to suspicions arising concerning his involvement in the disappearance of mail.
At around 9pm last Sunday evening, in the Aveiras service station on the A1, a van owned by a transport company used by the post office was seen parked in a discreet area. Shortly after it had been parked, a car pulled in close alongside it. The drivers of the two vehicles, a man and a woman, entered the van and began to sort through the mail, attempting to ascertain what items might contain valuable contents, such as cheques, cash, mobile phones and collection slips. The pair then transferred the selected items to the second vehicle.
Allegedly, it was an identical procedure to what had been carried out countless times previously. However, this time, a team from Lisbon PSP’s criminal investigation unit was watching the scene, just metres away, and the couple was caught in the act. Following their arrest, a raid was carried out on the couple’s home in Lisbon, where the aforementioned stash of more than 1,000 items stolen previously, was discovered. The pair is due to appear in court in Lisbon this week.
