DPD parcel worker stole £15,000 worth of iPhones and Samsung smartphones ‘to order’ from Leeds depot

Connor Murphy targeted expensive iPhones and Samsung smartphones that arrived at the depot in Morley, before the delivery company had chance to register the items.

The 21-year-old admitted theft from his employer when he appeared at Leeds Crown Court this week. Prosecutor Oliver Connor said that between August 22 and 30, Murphy removed specific items from the production line.

He then took them to the toilets and discarded the packaging in the roof space and hid the phones under his clothing. He would often leave work early to avoid mandatory searches when clocking out.

When complaints about missing parcels from the intended recipients began to filter through, an investigation was launched by DPD officials and CCTV from inside the Howley Park warehouse showed Murphy making frequent trips to the toilet with items under his jumper.

They found the packaging, and when they called Murphy in for a meeting, he “became emotional” when he saw the piles of discarded boxes and confessed.

He took phones worth £7,500, while seven other consignments were taken thought to be worth up to £7,000. He was arrested and told police that word got around about his first theft, so others began putting in orders for him to steal more. He said he even roped in another employee to be a “lookout” with the promise of money, but he was never paid.

Murphy said he sold the items and made around £2,000. He said he was in financial difficulties and took them to support his family. But this was queried after it was found he spent the money on clothes.

A probation report into Murphy, of Bawn Gardens, Farnley, suggested he was addicted to cannabis and had started smoking the drug when he was 16 and it helped calm him down. It was suggested that he “clearly has some defects in his learning ability”.

Mitigating, Charles Blatchford said he was “being directed by others to steal” after the first theft, and felt under pressure. He said that Murphy is now unemployed and is struggling to get a job because of the thefts.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told Murphy: “This was theft on a large scale in a short period of time. Your method was simple, the goods arrived and before they could be registered, you stole the items and hid the boxes in the roofing of the toilet area. Video footage showed it was quite apparent you were taking those items for others and you were paid.

"You were honest right from the start when you were confronted. You came clean and that’s credit to you. But you spent the money buying clothes so it was nothing to do with your shortage of money.”

He told Murphy he “thoroughly deserved to go to prison”, but instead handed him a 10-month sentence, suspended for 18 months. He also ordered him to complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days with probation and 250 hours of unpaid work.