Officers from the Metropolitan Police have arrested a man on suspicion of theft after it was alleged that he stole “a large number” of face masks and other clinical products from stores and ambulances at north London ambulance sites.
The male then attempted to sell the items online to take advantage of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Officers acted swiftly to find and detain the male after they were given ‘fast-time’ intelligence concerning the male’s location and activities.
By the time officers found the suspect, he had already sold a quantity of the stolen goods online.
The male, who is aged in his 20s, was arrested on Windmill Road, N18 at 12:08 hours on Wednesday 8th April.
He has since been released on bail pending further enquiries.
Police have said that the male was able to easily access the LAS sites because he was a contractor working with the London Ambulance Service.
During various searches of the male’s property, officers managed to find a large quantity of the vital medical equipment which has now been returned to the LAS.
Detective Inspector Jason Colby, leading the investigation said:
“I am saddened that anyone would take advantage of the NHS for their financial gain at such a critical time.
“These masks are a vital piece of PPE for emergency service personnel and are used to keep both themselves and patients safe.
“We will continue to crack down on anyone attempting to take advantage of our emergency services for personal gain, especially at such an unprecedented time.
“We are grateful to those who are assisting in our investigation.”
CLICK here to join our Emergency Services News community on Facebook.
Our social media group/community is open to both the public and emergency services personnel.
It is also a great place to share any emergency services related content (such as videos) which you have filmed.
If you have a story or video that you would like us to cover/share, then you can contact our team via contact@emergency-services.news
We also cover stories which relate to the NHS, the armed forces and the security services.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
