Thief arrested after police find U-Haul truck with stolen mail, packages in Plantation, authorities say

PLANTATION, Fla. – Authorities found a U-Haul truck early Wednesday morning with mail and packages from various addresses which led to the arrest of a thief that was accused of stealing them from a Plantation neighborhood.

According to Plantation police, officers received a call of a suspicious vehicle in the area of Northwest 94th Avenue and 15th Street around 4 a.m.

Authorities said after conducting a search of the U-Haul truck, officers found 200 pieces of mail that belonged to residents in Plantation and Sunrise.

A Local 10 News crew was at the scene as police officers were inspecting the packages with flashlights as they searched the inside of the pickup which appeared to be filled with boxes and mail.

Authorities said jewelry was found in at least one of the packages that were recovered.

A tweet by the Plantation Police Department said it was a traffic stop that led to the arrest and federal charges against the driver.

Neighbors in the area said they’ve been dealing with mail thefts over the last few weeks.

“There’s a lot of people who have been posting, indicating that their mail has been stolen. Some of their mail was returned to them from the rented truck that was driving around and picking up mail,” said Plantation resident Mike Harari.

“I came outside and noticed one, two, three of the mailboxes were left open and then I went in, and I looked and there was nothing in the mailbox,” said one man who lives nearby.

This is the second time this week that mail theft has been reported in Broward County.

On Monday, Sunrise police made a big mail theft bust, highlighting a problem that continues to plague the post office and unsuspecting residents across South Florida.

Detectives said they arrested Andy Louis, of Lauderdale Lakes, after he was caught red-handed at a multi-unit corporate mailbox off Northwest 46th Street.

Authorities said Louis’ vehicle was filled with over 800 pieces of mail.

Sunrise police did confirm that the U-Haul truck did contain mail from their city but said it’s too soon to tell if the two incidents are related.

Plantation police also said that all the mail was returned to its proper owners and the thief who was arrested could end up facing federal charges.

The suspect involved in the incident has not been identified by police.

Anyone with information on the incident or who has been a victim of mail theft is urged to call Boward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.