Let's Be Detectives! Australia Post!

I'm a foreigner, so there may be a lot of grammatical mistakes. Please forgive me.

Let's find the thieves at the Australian Post Office! I have a parcel sent from China to Melbourne and then to Canberra. The package contained a new iPhone that had been stolen. The funny thing is, none of the other items in my package were missing except my phone. What's more, the thief left his tools in my bag. It says scan in English.

Analysis:

  1. Melbourne, China. In this segment, you have photos, weight. All the small packages are put in a big box. After arriving in Australia, open the big box and send my small package to me. So there is no link being opened.
  2. My case was opened from the side and then glued with transparent tape. There's a knife inside. (Knives are not allowed in international deliveries, as we all know)
  3. The knives are written in English. It's been used for a long time. So I guess it must be in the Australian post office when scanning, someone through the X-ray machine, found that there is a mobile phone in the package. Took a knife and opened my package. This person is most likely the scanner worker.

So NOW I want to know how I can find out who owns this knife, or who's involved. I don't know how to contact the Australian post office, and it doesn't feel very helpful. Do you have any ideas? I know the make of this knife. There are also shipping records.

Thank you very much for your help

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Comments

    • +1

      aki ur bad

    • +2

      Go away anime man

  • +16

    Anyone in the delivery chain could of taken it. 99% sure it was stolen in china not australia, good luck though.

    Most knives are made in china, just because it is in english doesnt mean much since knives in english are still made in china.

    • +2

      . There was a piece of paper taped to the knife with 'X-ray' written on it in English.

      • +4

        It doesnt matter how good of a detective you are, its impossible to tell.

        All you can do is make a complaint to whoever sent the package and hopefully they determine what happened but i wouldnt get my hopes up.
        Maybe you can claim on the insurance you hopefully bought, but i do not think stolen in transit is covered.

        • -2

          yes!There is no insurance claim for missing only part of the delivery

      • +9

        Isn't it Australian Border Force that scan international parcels?, not Aus Post?

        • -1

          After going out from the customs, the Australian post office needs to scan it and send it to me

          • +11

            @YIWENEV: I dont think Aus Post have xray machines though, Border Force do the xraying…

            i.e.
            https://www.9news.com.au/national/border-force-using-xray-vi…

          • +2

            @YIWENEV:

            Australian post office needs to scan it and send it to me

            How about if it was stolen between Australia Post sending and you opening the box?

            Plausible culprits:

            1. Same house resident.
            2. A neighbor.
            3. Someone that had access to the box just before you and couldn't hide/dispose of the evidence quick enough.

            Other more credible culprits:

            1. REMOVED by some obscure government authority BECAUSE IT HAD A LITHIUM battery inside and wasn't declared.
            2. Phone never left the original place (China as you stated).

            An Australia Post member stealing the phone is a possibility. It has been reported a Post Office official was illegally involved in the importation of Glock firearms. So anything is possible.

            • -1

              @LFO: This.

              You cannot send an item with a lithium battery without declaring it. Most likely your phone was confiscated by customs. The batteries show up really easily on the x rays scans which customs would have done on your parcel.

          • @YIWENEV: Australia Post "Scan" it, they don't X-Ray it, scanning it entails reading the labels/barcodes with a scanner. X-Rays are conducted by Customs to look for dodgy contents.

            • -1

              @gromit: Scan fits for xray also… "Xray Scan" or "Xray Scanner" is common terminology…

              • +1

                @FLICKIT: It is, but that is NOT what Australia Post do.

                • @gromit: As I posted up the page yesterday ;)

        • Yes. Not Australia Post issue.
          International tracking actually shows packages go to customs first, then Aus Post. Customs do the security checks. Aus Post are just the carrier.

      • +2

        Australia post don't X-Ray packages, that is customs/border force. The fact it has X-Ray written on it almost certainly means it was Border Force opening it for inspection at the X-Ray machine.

      • I'm confused - did it say "scan" as in the post or "X-ray" - inconsistencies in the story

  • +55

    This is way above my ozbargain pay grade. Sorry.

    • +9

      not going to bother even asking for an mspaint diagram?!

    • +16

      You guys are getting paid?

  • +5

    Was it a fake iphone? … Customs confiscate counterfeit items at times but I'm sure they would leave a note in the package if they did..

    What does the knife look like?

    • -3

      It's not fake. If you buy it in China, it will be $300 cheaper than Australia.

      • +35

        If you get it…

      • +3

        Why on earth you bought a iPhone from China, it's as bad as buying one from Gumtree and ask them to post it.

        • Some iPhone in China support dual physical SIM.

        • Or selling a high end graphic card to Russia

        • more likely to get one from gumtree.

      • why risk for such amount? You can easily get 10-15% off sales for apple devices during various times. When something like this happens its impossible to trace or even if package was damaged to get compensation.

      • Gee that was a bargain eh? you didnt save you lost

    • -3

      Why do they do that? Isn't it my right if i want to buy counterfeit items?

      • I assume your being sarcastic or such but I'll answer anyway… Similar to pirated music & movies, importing counterfeit goods is illegal, it's basically stealing from the companies that have spent the money to design the items… Plus counterfeit items get imported and sold as genuine items, that's not good for the buyers and it cant be good for a brand-name companies reputation…

        They claim buying counterfeits help fund organized crime and the likes… It's not unusual for Border Force to confiscate knock-off phones, handbags, makeup, clothing, and the likes…. I assume they'd be more interested in the commercial quantities being imported for resale but you do hear of individual items being grabbed at the border…

    • 🔪- similar to this thing.

  • +1

    Have it blacklisted. Guess you don't have any proof of ownership info either ?

    • -1

      I have the unpacking video
      😂😂😂

      • +10

        How is an unpacking video going to prove that there was an iPhone inside when it was packed?

        • +1

          how do you prove it then

        • At least selling get to see the face of the disappointment 😉

  • +8

    I don't know how to contact the Australian post office

    Not going to be a great detective if you can't work this bit out… It's right there on the website, contact us.

    https://auspost.com.au/help-and-support

    • -4

      I have already contacted, but I can only get a reply on Tuesday. And I don't know if they'll help me find it

      • +2

        I hate to break it to you but It is not their job to locate lost iPhones.

        You should lodge an enquiry / complaint with the sender. They should have purchased insurance prior to shipping.

  • +3

    Contact the seller? Item not delivered?

    • There is no way. I bought these express goods in China and shipped them to Australia.

      • +4

        The ONLY way you will get answers is through the seller, you have no contract with any of the shipping companies that have been used, their contract is with the sender

        its more likely that the sender has ripped you off, if you have no luck going through them contact your bank to dispute the charges

  • +1

    Actually, I know where to start. I can contact the Australian post office and ask which link they used this knife. They should have purchased it centrally. I also know the brand of this knife. And there should be surveillance when they scan the delivery. You can check which link they need to scan the express.

    • +22

      Ok, do report back with your detective work 👍.

      • OK!I'll let you know if there's a follow-up

        • +4

          Can you get fingerprints off the knife?

        • +8

          Can you contact a friend in ASIO that can cross check DNA sampling from any skin cells the thief left?

    • +9

      Auspost delivers 10 million parcels a week. Of course they will drop everything and start multiple investigations to track down the origins of a knife which may or may not be theirs and to find the whereabouts of a lost iPhone.

      Guess you thought insurance was optional specially when you are ordering an expensive mobile from overseas?

      • +3

        Auspost delivers 10 million parcels a week

        Is this including the ones where they just leave a card?

        • +1

          Which residential deliveries do they not leave a card? I have resorted to get everything shipped to my office because of this.

    • Australia Post doesn't inspect packages. That is the job of Customs. You are contacting the wrong people.

    • What a fantasy world you live in hahaha

  • +8

    did the knife look like this

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/686209

      • +8

        Are you sure the seller didn't send a cheap Stanley knife with the tracking number of the phone as proof it was shipped? I've heard this is done by dodgy sellers on Chinese ecommerce platforms all th time. I myself once received a cheap shoe insole for something else I purchased on AliExpress.

      • +9

        We'd call that a "box cutter" in Australia btw. Can be bought anywhere and found in every warehouse and customs place in the world.

      • makes sense
        that knife only cuts tomatos

      • +10

        Ah, so a Stanley Knife….Probably the worlds most popular utility knife. So popular that in many countries any brand utility knife is called a "Stanley knife"
        That should be easy to locate. /s

      • +1

        Can I have my knife back, please?

        I need it to open some…. Boxes.

      • +1

        Soooo the most generic stanley knife sold in every supermarket, bunnings and newsagent that will be used by customs, Aus Post and practically every tradie and mum and dad in the country. hmmmm chances are ZERO of finding the culprit or even proving it is Australia post. FYI I would be more inclined to believe border force opened it.

        A good chance you may get a follow up letter in the mail stating you owe customs on it.

      • literally the most common knife in the world. Could have happened anywhere.

  • +2

    Claim your postal insurance. You did buy insurance to send an expensive iPhone through international post, didn't you?

    http://english.chinapost.com.cn/html1/category/1408/4051-1.h…

    Insured parcel premium: ¥1 per ¥100 value + ¥8 per item

    • Sure

  • +2

    !

  • +1

    (profanity) what? Lol

    • There are videos of packing things up

      • +5

        and once the video is turned off after showing the packing, they grab their knife and open the item up, replacing the goods.

      • +10

        Plot twist: Video of packing things up was taken with an iPhone

        • +3

          With "the iPhone"

  • +9

    you have my axe

  • +2

    Who buys iPhone from China?

    • +7

      OP as its $300 'cheaper' than here….. if it arrives

    • +7

      China is the only place if you are after a Goophone 12 Pro Max

      • +7

        Is it any goo ?

  • +21

    Seller in China sent you a box without an iPhone in it….or
    Some person in the delivery chain in Australia randomly opened your box, took the phone, placed a Stanley knife inside instead and then taped it back up and sent it to you…

    And you're convinced it must be option 2?

    • Yeah, it's a bit of a stretch.
      Just think how many phones are shipped each day.

  • +3

    I once had customs in Australia leave a box cutter when inspecting my parcel (vintage computer). Free box cutter!

    • What model? :O (Of computer, not box cutter)

      • +2

        1978 IMSAI 8080 S-100 computer. Same model as the one in the movie "WarGames" that he uses to dial into the WOPr.

    • +4

      Was there an “x-ray” sticker on it?

      • +1

        Nope, there was a pamphlet in the parcel saying it was inspected by Australian Border Force, i mean it's understandable it's a giant metal box that weighs 20+kgs.

  • +3

    CCTV of Australian post office and knife here:

    https://bit.ly/3Gt72XR

  • +2

    Old mate wanted us to whisper with words of wisdom but now OP has to….

    Just let it be
    Just let it be
    Just let it be

  • +2

    What's the actual weight of the parcel (box+content) and the weight mentioned in the label, note if there are multiple labels ,note of all weights.

  • +1

    What about sprinkle some baby powder and dust for finger prints?

  • +5

    They don't scan things at the post office. Customs does that. The English on the note doesn't mean it's from here. You can send knives through international post. You make a lot of incorrect assumptions. Far more likely is that the seller just sent you some junk. Chase it up with the seller.

  • 1: Melbourne, China. In this segment, you have photos, weight. All the small packages are put in a big box. After arriving in Australia, open the big box and send my small package to me. So there is no link being opened.

    Probably happened here.

  • +2

    Knives aren't allowed to be shipped in from overseas? That's not right …

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