Mail theft investigations can be more straightforward when a mail carrier leaves a trail of missing mail along his or her route.
But this was different — the victims were scattered across several routes and the stolen items were being used in a number of different locations.
And the Dover Police Department had been tracking suspects making fraudulent purchases around town. With collusion now clear, it was time to find the person providing the stolen goods to the other fraudsters.
Our special agents interviewed several victims and narrowed down the pool of possible suspects to a mail carrier who wasn’t assigned to a specific route and instead worked several.
One of the victims had home security footage showing the carrier making a partial delivery — two credit cards that should have been delivered that day were missing.
Our special agents found more evidence that showed the mail carrier stashing mail into his personal backpack while on duty. And the Smyrna and Dover Police Departments identified a suspect who seemed directly connected to the mail carrier.