A DPD warehouse worker, an Indian immigrant, has been sentenced after orchestrating a sophisticated parcel theft scheme that saw him divert valuable packages worth over £26,000 using fake labels, in the latest organised theft scandal to hit the UK courier industry.
Amardeep Singh, 31, was paid £20 per parcel by an unknown criminal contact to systematically redirect high-value deliveries from DPD’s Etruria depot to collection points across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, where he would collect them before passing them on.
The £20-Per-Parcel Theft Scheme That Fooled DPD’s Systems
Singh’s operation, which ran during the busy Christmas period between November 2022 and January 2023, involved purchasing false address labels through Parcel Monkey and carefully placing them over the original delivery details on valuable packages.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Singh specifically targeted high-value electronics including smartphones, iPhones, Samsung devices, an iMac computer, and Apple watches, systematically diverting them to shops where he could collect them without suspicion.
The scheme was described by prosecutors as well-planned and sophisticated, with Singh preparing the false labels in advance and strategically selecting which parcels were “worthy of diversion” based on their likely contents and value.
When packages went missing, DPD was required to reimburse senders for the full value, creating significant financial losses for the company beyond just the stolen goods themselves.
CCTV Evidence Unravels the Christmas Theft Ring
Singh’s operation only came to light when DPD’s security team noticed unusual patterns in missing parcels and obtained CCTV footage from the collection shops.
The footage clearly showed Singh and occasionally his wife collecting the diverted packages, though the court accepted that his wife was unaware of the fraudulent activity and was merely helping with collections.
Some parcels were intercepted by DPD before Singh could collect them, revealing the false labelling system when investigators peeled back the fake addresses to discover the original delivery details underneath.
When confronted at work on 12th January 2023, Singh admitted he had been approached by a man at a temple in Smethwick who offered him £20 per parcel for the diversions.
He claimed he was provided with a burner phone and had collected parcels four or five times before suspecting something was wrong and throwing away his SIM card.
Second Major Courier Theft Case Involving Overseas Workers
This case represents another high-profile organised theft scandal involving courier depot workers, following the £70,000 theft ring at Evri’s Yorkshire hub where five workers, including Romanian nationals, faced court proceedings for stealing goods worth £68,436.
Both cases share troubling similarities: organised networks rather than opportunistic theft, sophisticated methods involving insider knowledge, and workers who had gained trusted access to handle thousands of valuable parcels daily.
Singh, described in court as a “hard-working immigrant,” had only started working at DPD in November 2022 – meaning the theft operation began shortly after his employment commenced, raising questions about the vetting process and ongoing monitoring of new staff.
Questions Over Background Checks and Security Monitoring
The Singh case highlights concerning gaps in the courier industry’s approach to staff vetting and security oversight, particularly for workers handling high-value goods during peak periods.
Singh’s ability to purchase false labels through Parcel Monkey and systematically divert packages suggests either inadequate monitoring of labelling systems or insufficient oversight of warehouse operations during the busy Christmas period.
The fact that he was able to operate the scheme for over two months before detection, despite targeting obviously valuable electronics, raises questions about whether DPD had adequate systems in place to track unusual patterns in missing or diverted parcels.
Industry sources suggest that the pressure to rapidly staff warehouses during peak periods like Black Friday and Christmas often leads to streamlined hiring processes, potentially at the expense of thorough background verification and security training.
The Customer Impact of Internal Betrayal
For customers whose Christmas presents and valuable electronics were diverted by Singh’s operation, the impact extended far beyond delivery delays.
Many of the targeted items were likely intended as Christmas gifts, meaning families faced disappointment during the festive period whilst DPD investigated the missing parcels.
Recorder Jeremy Lasker highlighted this human cost during sentencing, noting that “many of the packages you diverted were intended as Christmas presents to friends and family” and caused “alarm, disappointment and perhaps distress” to recipients.
The sophisticated nature of the operation also meant that tracking information would have appeared normal until the point of attempted delivery, leaving customers confused about why their valuable parcels had apparently vanished without explanation.
Court Shows Leniency Despite Serious Breach of Trust
Despite the serious nature of the offences, Singh received a suspended sentence of 20 months plus 200 hours of unpaid work, avoiding immediate imprisonment.
The court noted that Singh had no previous convictions, showed genuine remorse, and had moved to London where he was working six days a week as a motorcycle delivery driver, demonstrating his commitment to legitimate employment.
However, Recorder Lasker made clear that Singh had “come within an inch of going to prison,” emphasising the seriousness of breaching employer trust and the sophisticated planning involved in the scheme.
The judge noted that Singh had attempted to destroy evidence by factory-resetting his phone during the police interview, suggesting awareness of the criminal nature of his activities.
Industry-Wide Security Implications
The DPD theft case comes at a time when the courier industry is under increasing pressure from rising parcel volumes, staff shortages, and customer complaints about missing deliveries.
With companies like Evri planning to recruit 5,000 new workers and the sector handling record numbers of valuable packages, the temptation for organised crime to exploit warehouse vulnerabilities has never been greater.
The case also demonstrates how criminal networks are evolving to target courier infrastructure, using inside knowledge and access to systematically steal high-value goods rather than relying on opportunistic theft.
Security experts argue that courier companies need enhanced vetting procedures, better monitoring of labelling systems, and stronger oversight of warehouse operations, particularly for new employees during their probationary periods.
The Singh case exposes critical security vulnerabilities that go beyond individual wrongdoing to reveal systemic weaknesses in how courier companies vet, train, and monitor warehouse staff with access to valuable goods.
With organised criminals increasingly targeting logistics infrastructure and the industry under pressure to hire rapidly, companies must implement robust security measures that protect customer parcels through proper background checks, system monitoring, and ongoing oversight – because customer trust depends on more than just hoping employees will do the right thing.
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