Dispatches: Season 2025, Episode 10

2025 - 10: Hunting Britain's Parcel Thieves

Every seven seconds a parcel is stolen in Britain. With Christmas just around the corner, Dispatches goes on a mission to catch the crooks behind the escalating crime wave. The eye-opening film reveals the stark reality of Britain's disappearing doorstep deliveries, showing how it's become big business for criminal gangs. Reporter Tir Dhondy meets victims frustrated that their parcels keep going missing, even though they have doorbell footage of the criminals at work.To investigate what happens with stolen deliveries, Tir hides tiny tracking devices in parcels and leaves them on doorsteps. When they're stolen, the thieves have no idea that Tir is secretly following on their tail, ready to challenge them. Tir finds out how one doorstep thief susses out which homes offer the prime pickings, and learns that parcel theft is no longer just a petty crime for opportunist thieves but a lucrative business model for criminal gangs, costing more than an estimated £650m a year. Tir also discovers the shocking reality of how violent organised gangs are hijacking delivery vans, sometimes with deadly consequences. And how stressed-out delivery drivers are frightened in their daily work. With exclusive access to a major police operation, Tir sees first-hand how the cops are tracking and tackling the organised gangs who are determined to pinch our festive purchases.