An Evri delivery driver stole parcels worth more than £30,000 in a high-value plot orchestrated by a gang of five.

The scheme was put into motion after delivery driver Tinel Manolache loaded up his van at the Evri depot located in Barnsley.

A Sheffield Crown Court hearing held on February 11, 2026 heard how Evri was in the process of investigating the theft of a number of parcels from the depot.

placeholder image — The scheme was put into motion after delivery driver Tinel Manolache loaded up his van at the Evri depot located in Barnsley | 3rd party

A member of their investigations team placed a GPS tracker in one of the parcels collected by Manolache, leading to the theft on September 21, 2024 being detected, and ultimately, to Manolache’s conviction.

Sending Manolache, aged 44, to begin a 19-month prison sentence, Judge Graham Reeds KC, told him: “Trust was placed in you as a delivery driver to deliver those packages to the people to whom they were addressed.

“What you did, in fact, was to drive to an organised spot where the parcels were transferred to another van driven by other thieves in agreement with you about what would happen.”

Judge Reeds said “but for the fact” the tracker had been placed into one of the parcels, the entire haul, worth in excess of £68,000, would have been lost forever.

Manolache admitted to a charge of theft by an employee in relation to one of the two vans the stolen parcels were split into.

The stolen parcels Manolache took responsibility for had an estimated value of £33,314.15, the court heard.

In addition to the parcel with the GPS tracker, Manolache’s van was also being traced, Laura McBride, prosecuting, said.

The Evri investigator observed Manolache’s van deviating from the expected route, around half an hour setting off on the agreed journey from Barnsley to Evri’s Brooklands depot in Weybridge, Surrey, before stopping for around seven minutes.

“She followed the tracker travelling north in the opposite direction. She found the parcel GPS appeared to be travelling in a second van so contacted the police, who stopped that van in transit,” Ms McBride said.

Manolache was arrested when he reached Evri’s Brooklands depot, and initially denied matters in his police interview, before acknowledging his wrongdoing through a guilty plea.

Judge Reeds continued: “This was not simply giving into temptation to steal one or two parcels.

“It was an almost professional, organised, high value theft.

“Four other defendants were involved, all were part of the theft. Two absconded and are still sought by police, two accepted their guilt at the first opportunity.”

The identity of the four others alleged to have been involved with the parcel theft scheme was not disclosed in court.

Ms McBride said Manolache, of Glebe Street, Leigh, Wigan, has no previous convictions in the United Kingdom, but has a Romanian conviction dating back to 2016 for trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Defending, Kevin Liston told the court that Manolache’s motivation for committing the offences “appears to have been financial pressures,” which include the cost of medical treatment his wife has received.

Mr Liston continued Manolache’s mitigation by telling the court his client has not committed any further or similar offences in the 17 months since the theft.

Manolache has found work, and is responsible for financially supporting his family, including his daughter and grandchildren.

Judge Reeds said he had taken Manolache’s mitigation into consideration, when arriving at the correct sentence to pass down, but did not believe it was necessary to reduce his sentence based on the number of dependents he is responsible for supporting.

South Yorkshire Police does not hold a custody image of Manolache, a force spokesperson said.

Speaking after Manolache was jailed, An Evri spokesperson said: “Every parcel matters to us, and we take fraudulent activity extremely seriously. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards instances of theft and will work with the police to seek prosecutions.

“In this instance, our dedicated loss prevention team proactively identified an unusual pattern of behaviour and alerted the police, resulting in the sentence.

“We’re committed to making sure every parcel is carefully looked after. The overwhelming majority of our 30,000 couriers are highly regarded by customers, with an average star rating of 4.6 out of 5 this year.”