Over a hundred undelivered packages were found last month in a Commonwealth Road dumpster, sparking an investigation. With the assistance of Wayland resident Lori Gols and social media, the police were able to track down the source and potential instigator.
The incident first came to light on Sunday, June 22, when Gols was dropping off recycling and noticed packages in a dumpster. “I just took one to look at it, and I recognized the return address because I had seen a couple of different posts in different social media about people missing packages from this company,” she said. She brought the packages to the police station. But when Gols returned to the dumpster two days later, she found dozens more packages. “I called the police right away and had them come so they could see for themselves and help take them out,” she reported.
According to Wayland police, a preliminary investigation revealed the packages had been documented as delivered but never received by residents. Comments made on social media by Wayland residents and members of surrounding communities helped the police determine that this incident was related to a specific delivery service and not an isolated incident. The social media posts documented similar problems with undelivered or misdelivered packages in other towns, many involving UniUni, a delivery company operating in North America. In addition to the packages discovered in the Wayland dumpster, more packages (some of which belonged to Wayland residents) were found in a dumpster outside Wild Birds Unlimited in Sudbury.
“Social media helped to solve this issue,” Gols said. “A lot of people were able to see that it was a broader issue than just their one package.” All of the packages appeared to be from UniUni, she added.
Not an isolated incident
The police confirmed that this was not an isolated incident and is linked to a single individual. Wayland Police Chief Ed Burman said the Middlesex District Attorney’s office has been notified of the ongoing investigation, and he is awaiting a response from that office regarding potential charges.
Martin van den Hemel, UniUni’s director of communications, released a statement confirming the incident was the result of a third-party driver. “The individual responsible was employed by an independent Delivery Service Partner (DSP) contracted by UniUni,” he said. “The DSP has been permanently removed from UniUni’s network, and we are taking all necessary steps to recover the affected packages.”
Wayland Police, with assistance from delivery company UniUni, are working to return the packages to their rightful owners.
In the United States, disposal of mail is a federal crime. The law considers mail to be private property, and interfering with someone else’s mail, including destroying or hiding it, is prohibited. This crime is often referred to as obstruction of correspondence, which is a felony offense. A conviction could result in fines and imprisonment of up to five years.
