For sale: All the tools you need to burgle houses (being sold by the POLICE)

Published 09th Jun 2011

A one-stop internet auction site selling all the necessary tools for wannabe crooks is being run by police in a bid to shift confiscated and seized items.

Bolt cutters, window pane removers and even an Arc slicer - which can cut, burn or pierce virtually any material - are all on sale through the auction style site.

The Ebay style system allows anonymous bidders to buy items regularly used by burglars and robbers at bargain basement prices.

The goods have all either been confiscated, seized or lost - before being sold on the police auction website by forces looking to clear out their store rooms.

The site - bumblebeeauctions.co.uk - is headed with the strapline 'UK police property disposal' and lists several categories of seized goods available to buy.

Anything from wallets and purses to heavy machinery can be bought at the click of a button by anyone.

Successful bidders on an auction can stroll to the police station selling the item and pick it up from the staff - no questions asked.

And police forces have even been known to even post the items to buyers - with minimal checks made on who the winning bidder is.

Amazingly, anyone buying goods only needs to provide a credit card to purchase the item.

And in these damning images, our undercover reporter was able to bid for a set of bolt cutters being auctioned by Amersham police station - for just £5.50.

As our man arrived in his grey Hoodie to collect the bolt cutters he was greeted with a friendly smile by the desk bobby and handed his new purchase over the counter.

The site raises concerns over potentially dangerous machinery ending up back in the hands of those it was confiscated from.

It comes after police were recently forced to stop selling uniforms and equipment used in hit TV show 'The Bill' because criminals were snapping them up to use as disguises for deception crimes.

The 'secret shopper', who bought the bolt cutters from his local station, said: 'It was dead easy - just like ebay.

'No criminal checks were made, I just needed to prove it was myself who had paid for the bolt cutters online before they would let me have them.

'All they wanted to see was the payment confirmation form printed from the auction website.

'I didn't have the printed confirmation form so I just showed them my driving license which still has my old address on it.

'When I was in the police station waiting for my bolt cutters to be handed over I was thinking this shouldn't really be happening and I'm sure the bobby on duty was thinking the same.

'What else can you do with bolt cutters apart from cut bolts?'

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers said: 'Maximising the value from criminal property which has been confiscated by the courts benefits the public purse and returns the proceeds of crime to society at large.

'The internet gives police forces another way to realise the value of property seized from criminals.

'There is no criminality in purchasing any of these items which are all legal to own and are widely available.'

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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