A prolific parcel thief who stole thousands of pounds’ worth of packages faces prison after a woman found he was trying to sell her nicked goods online… and tracked him down using his tattoos.
Camila Martins, from Westminster in London, was left perplexed after receiving a call from a DHL delivery driver on March 12 asking where the package she had left for collection was.
Her confusion deepened after she discovered that another parcel – this one delivered by DPD – was also missing, despite receiving an email to say it had been dropped off at 12.42pm.
Turning to CCTV for answers, the 44-year-old watched as the brazen thief slipped behind a DPD van to gain access to her gated Mews.
Footage exclusively shared with the Daily Mail shows the man lurking as the van drops off packages to neighbours before turning into Ms Martin’s street.
The thief chats with the driver as the parcels are delivered, before lighting a cigarette and seemingly walking away as the van drives off.
Minutes later, the man – dressed in a blue camo North Face gilet – returns. He checks if anyone is home, seizes his chance, and snatches the parcels including, Chanel earmuffs worth around £1,000, before making a beeline for the exit.
The thief, revealed to be 31-year-old Ali Sadeghi, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of burglary – one in September 2025 and another related to Ms Martins – at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Camila Martins was left perplexed after receiving a call from a DPD delivery driver on March 12 asking where the package she had left for collection was. Using CCTV she watched brazen thief Ali Sadeghi slip behind a DHL van to access her gated Mews
Sadeghi lurks as the parcels are delivered by the driver before lighting a cigarette
Minutes later, Sadeghi – dressed in a blue camo North Face gilet – returns. He checks if anyone is home, seizes his chance, and snatches the parcels
Sadeghi is caught leaving the gated Mews, with the packages underneath his arm
‘I was shocked by what I saw,’ Ms Martins told the Daily Mail. ‘One of the items was the Chanel earmuffs, which I paid £900 for, and perfume from Harrods costing £295.’
Ms Martins trawled online resale sites and astonishingly found the exact pair of stolen Chanel Shearling Lambskin Black & White earmuffs being sold on an eBay account.
She identified them using the unique serial number, though the price had jumped from £900 to £2,556.70.
Ms Martins’ suspicions were strengthened when she spotted her stolen Alexandre J Imperial Peacock Eau de Parfum listed on the same account, which has now been deactivated.
Continuing her search, she sifted through hundreds of listings and came across photos showing a camera lens held by hands tattooed with distinctive birds.
A sense of deja vu struck, leading Ms Martins back to the CCTV footage, which showed the thief leaving her neighbourhood with parcels under his arm – tattooed with the same birds on his hands.
‘I went online to see if I could find a replacement pair of Chanel earmuffs for my client, and then I found the exact pair that had been stolen from me,’ Ms Martins explained.
‘I knew they were mine because of the serial number. As they are a limited edition, each item has its own identifying QR code.
Ms Martins trawled online resale sites and astonishingly found the exact pair of stolen Chanel Shearling Lambskin Black & White earmuffs being sold on an eBay account
Her suspicions were further strengthened when she spotted her stolen Alexandre J Imperial Peacock Eau de Parfum listed on the same account
‘I noticed the man had hand tattoos, including a flying bird, so I went back to the CCTV images and was able to match them.’
Determined to recover the items, Ms Martins began messaging the suspected thief and arranged to meet him in person, offering £1,000 in cash. However, during their conversations, he suddenly became quiet.
Ms Martins then contacted eBay and, believing she would receive a refund, repurchased the item using a friend’s account for £2,657 – around £1,000 more than she originally paid.
She is now in a dispute with both the online selling platform and DPD over reimbursement.
‘I’m more frustrated with eBay and DPD for refusing to help, not so much towards him, he is just a scumbag,’ Ms Martins said.
‘They are saying the delivery was successful, even though he got into my street because the DPD driver opened the gate. He must have been watching them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known the parcels were there.’
The scale of Sadeghi’s operation became clearer when Ms Martins was asked to purchase the item on a Vinted account due to the ‘large service charge’ that eBay added. Pictures of items on the account featured the same tattooed hands.
‘It had around 500 items listed and about 300 sales. That suggests he has stolen roughly 800 parcels,’ she said.
Continuing her search, Ms Martins sifted through hundreds of listings and came across photos showing a camera lens held by hands tattooed with distinctive birds
A sense of deja vu struck, leading her back to the CCTV footage, which showed Sadeghi leaving her neighbourhood with parcels under his arm – revealing the same tattoos on his hands
‘I think it is his job. I know it is. He must have been doing it for over a year. He even has an iPhone 17, so he’s not just someone stealing to fund a drug habit.’
The extent of Sadeghi’s thievery was revealed as Ms Martins posted a warning of the man on the neighbourhood social site NextDoor, prompting numerous replies to pop up.
One of which claimed the thief had even gone to the lengths of posing as a delivery driver with a hi-vis vest on in order to steal packages.
She explained: ‘There are more times he has been caught by CCTV stealing packages. There is another post on NextDoor. The same man stealing a package in December 2025.’
A poster has also been put up in a nearby property with a photo of Sadeghi, wearing a bucket hat, that reads: ‘Do not let this man in the building.
‘He has stolen parcels over the last year. The police have been notified so please contact us if you notice him.’
Ms Martins contacted the police, who told her they knew who he was. She explains: ‘The police officer told me he has been arrested before. They told me he is wanted. We know him but he doesn’t have a fixed address and is living in the equivalent of an abandoned home.
‘The man has a Vinted account, he is able to take pictures of clothes and sunglasses and he has a space to keep 500 items that are on sale. I think he has a place to live.’
The extent of Sadeghi’s thievery was revealed as Camila posted a warning of the man on the neighbourhood social site NextDoor. A poster has also been put up in a nearby property with a photo of Sadeghi, wearing a bucket hat, that warns residents about him
Ms Martins continued: ‘If he has an eBay and Vinted account, then these can be linked back to a bank account. The money needs to go somewhere. And if he has over 300 sales on Vinted, he has to be ID-verified.’
Parcel thefts in the UK have surged in levels, with an estimated £666.5million of parcels stolen in 2025.
Ms Martins called out the lack of repercussions to parcel thieves, as thefts are ‘clearly increasing’.
She said: ‘There’s a level of boldness from thieves who don’t seem to care about CCTV at all, likely because they know nothing really happens to them. People report these incidents, but when there is little to no follow up, it only encourages more of it.’
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: ‘Ali Sadeghi, 31 (07.06.94), of Lanhill Road W9 is due to appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 27 April charged with two counts of burglary.
‘The offences relate to incidents that took place in the borough of Westminster on 8 September, 2025 and 12 March, 2026.’
A spokesperson for DPD said: ‘We have investigated this delivery and can confirm that the recipient had provided a leave safe instruction via the DPD app Consumer Safe Place option, with specific instructions on the location, in the event of no one being at home.
‘Our driver has followed the instructions and delivered the parcel to the designated safe place, as specified.
‘Sadly, as the recipient has provided the leave safe instruction, no claim for subsequent loss can be raised, as they have accepted liability.’
A spokesperson for eBay said: ‘The sale of stolen property is strictly prohibited on eBay. We work closely with law enforcement and if we receive confirmation that an item has been stolen, we remove it immediately and take action against the seller.
‘We encourage users to contact local law enforcement if they suspect an item is stolen. While we cannot comment on specific cases, given the circumstances, we are issuing your reader a full refund.’
The Daily Mail have contacted Vinted for comment.
