Ambushed by the porch pirate gangs: How criminal network is hijacking delivery vans across Britain as one parcel is stolen every SEVEN seconds in £650m-a-year theft epidemic:Video

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Organised criminal gangs in Britain are using sophisticated tactics to intercept or hijack parcel delivery vans before using getaway cars with false numberplates.

Shocking new videos shared with the Daily Mail show criminals are ambushing vehicles while deliveries are in progress to homes or shops before speeding off.

The Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad revealed the public were 'absolutely terrified' of the gangs whose intimidating members wear black and cover their faces.

Footage to be shown in a new episode of Dispatches on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight shows the thieves climbing inside vans before picking the parcels they want to steal.

The criminals also have other vans lined up ready to take the parcels to ensure they have no stolen goods in their cars if they are stopped by police later on.

Mobile phone and dashcam footage can prove crucial to investigations, with delivery drivers advised by their bosses to not intervene due to the threat of violence.

The gangs are behind an epidemic that sees a parcel now stolen every seven seconds in Britain with the crime costing the country an estimated £650million a year.

The Flying Squad has identified 20 organised parcel theft gangs and made 48 arrests in two years, with one gang admitting a series of thefts and robberies last month.

The programme includes new footage shared by the Met of the tactics used by this organised parcel theft gang last year on delivery drivers in broad daylight.

One man filming a theft on his mobile phone shouts: 'They're robbing the van, they're robbing right outside my shop.'

Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier from the Flying Squad says: 'So this one here, you can see delivery had actually been in progress.

'One of the males has climbed inside the van and they're picking out which of the parcels they actually want to steal.'

She adds: 'People are absolutely terrified. but you can see why, they're all in black, their faces are covered. They've got other vans lined up ready to take the parcels so that whenever they're stopped by police they have nothing in their cars, they're clean.'

DCI Laura Hillier also says that the advice from delivery companies to their drivers is 'don't intervene, there's been massive threats of violence, there's been weapons seen'.

The Met's Operation Soslink aims to tackle gangs targeting delivery vans in the capital, while opportunistic thieves stealing from doorsteps are also contributing to the issue.

DCI Hillier says: 'We're seeing a level of sophistication, organisation and gangs getting involved and using violence.

'They're going with a precondition that they're going to either rob or steal items from the couriers. It's brazen what they do - it's really got a sophisticated nature to it.'

Also in the documentary, a brazen thief called 'Jay' is filmed unboxing stolen goods from kettles to heaters.

He brags of using violence as an 'element of surprise' to target unsuspecting delivery drivers and says he feels 'like a kid' when opening goods.

Jay also claims he now targets parcels as a 'side hustle' near the White City estate in West London because they are so easy to steal and potentially very lucrative.

He shows Channel 4 reporter Tir Dhondy some of the parcels still in their boxes including a Russell Hobbs slow cooker, Daewoo plastic kettle and 2kw fan heater.

Tir also meets someone who claims to be a 'fence' - a criminal who buys and sells stolen parcels. He claims that the high-value items he handles are shipped out of the UK through established criminal networks, ending up in Africa.

The documentary additionally shows the Dispatches team placing seven parcels containing secret tracking devices on doorsteps across London – five of which are stolen.

Expensive North Face jackets are in some packages and speaker systems are in others. All of the items are rigged with hidden high-tech trackers.

Five of the parcels are stolen, with doorbell cameras capturing two of the thieves in the act. Using tracking software, the team then follow the parcels to several blocks of flats across South and East London.

One parcel containing a set of speakers worth more than £150 appears to end up at a shop in Harlesden, North West London – although Tir cannot find it when she visits.

Dispatches also look at the toll parcel theft is having on delivery drivers, speaking to one courier whose van was stolen while he was delivering a package just yards away.

The film also reports on the murder of Amazon delivery driver Claudiu Carol Kondor, who was killed while trying to stop a thief stealing his van in August 2024.

Mr Kondor, 42, was delivering parcels in Leeds when Mark Ross climbed into his van and started to drive away.

Mr Kondor clung onto the vehicle for half-a-mile as the defendant hit speeds of up to 60mph and swerved from side to side before hitting two parked cars, all in an effort to knock him from the van.

Mr Kondor died from head and chest injuries from the second crash. Ross was later jailed at Leeds Crown Court for a minimum term of 30 years.

Hunting Britain's Parcel Thieves: Dispatches airs on Channel 4 tonight at 8pm

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Full show here
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/hun ... dispatches