iPhones stolen by postman Paul Platt who wanted to fund drug habit

[POSTMAN]

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http://i4.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/incoming/article11014591.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/JS70267698.jpg37-year-old Paul Platt, from Middleton, escaped jail after a court heard he stole the smartphones from packets while working for the Royal Mail, then sold them onto friends.

A postman who swiped two top of the range iPhones to help fund his drug habit has avoided being sent to jail.

The disappearance of packets containing the smartphones sparked a Royal Mail investigation which ended up costing thousands of pounds.

The thefts were eventually linked to delivery driver Paul Platt, 37, from Middleton , who had sold them on to pals.

However magistrates decided against sending him to prison after hearing he was seeking treatment for his drug addiction.

Platt was working for the postal service on a casual basis at Manchester Central depot on Oldham Road during the time of the thefts in December 2014 and January 2015.

The alarm was raised after panicked customers complained they had not received their Apple devices.

Marianne Alton, prosecuting on behalf of the Royal Mail, told the court that the handsets had reached the depot and an analysis was carried out to find out which staff had been involved in their handling.

Dad-of-one Platt was found to have been designated delivery driver for both items, worth a total of £1,038.

Further investigations found one had been registered to Platt’s previous address whilst the phone numbers attached to both were registered as contacts in his own phone.

Text messages were also found including one he received saying “What colour that thing?’ and another he had sent saying ‘got some phones if you know anyone’, Ms Alton said.

Platt, now of Thompson Lane, Chadderton was arrested in April last year but initially denied any knowledge of the phones or their current owners.

However he pleaded guilty to two charges of theft by an employee on the day a trial was due to begin last month.

[wannabeek]

The disappearance of packets containing the smartphones sparked a Royal Mail investigation which ended up costing thousands of pounds.

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Dad-of-one Platt was found to have been designated delivery driver for both items, worth a total of £1,038.

Further investigations found one had been registered to Platt’s previous address whilst the phone numbers attached to both were registered as contacts in his own phone.

Text messages were also found including one he received saying “What colour that thing?’ and another he had sent saying ‘got some phones if you know anyone’, Ms Alton said.

I don't understand. How could this have possibly been a costly investigation, it just seems such an obvious and blatant crime - not really a complicated case to crack at all. Maybe every investigation costs so much. I really don't get it tho.