DHL hit in massive IT heist

Lights out as blaggers nick lorry loads of goodies

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in IT Channel, 29th July 2005 09:35 GMT

Merseyside Police are appealing for information following the theft of thousands of pounds of mobile phone and consumer durables in a burglary at DHL's depot in Aintree, Liverpool, last weekend.

Thieves made off with five lorries loaded with a substantial amount of property including sports clothing, mobile phones and electrical goods. One of the stolen lorries was recovered in Bootle. The four outstanding lorries are bright yellow and marked with the DHL logo, so they shouldn't be too hard to spot.

Police are appealing for information from public who may have seen any of the outstanding vehicles or anyone acting suspiciously near the depot in Wareing Road between 9pm on Saturday and 9pm on Sunday. Anyone with information should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

DHL staffers told El Reg's squirrel on the Wirral that the thieves opened a large number of parcels destined for Monday delivery and took the high value items such as mobile phones, CD players and laptops. Telephone lines and burglar alarms running from the depot were cut. Staff arriving to work on Monday found a depot in chaos. Thieves had left empty boxes strewn over the warehouse. Adding insult to injury they'd also left on the headlight of lorries they hadn't taken (possibly used as a source of light during the burglary) so that car batteries were flat.

The financial impact of the burglary remains unclear. A DHL spokeswoman said the losses were "significant". We understand that even on Thursday staff were still sorting through the mess. ®