Postal deliveries delayed as man arrested in connection with theft at Cork mail unit

An Post has apologised to Fermoy customers who had mail either delayed or damaged

A man in his 30s has been arrested and questioned by gardaí about theft. File picture

A man has been arrested in connection with theft at a North Cork mail unit after an incident which has delayed postal deliveries.

An Post has apologised to customers impacted by the incident at Fermoy Delivery Services Unit, with customers who had mail either delayed or damaged being sent a letter from the company.

The letter, seen by the Irish Examiner, is dated December 1 and says: “Due to recent incident in our Fermoy Delivery Services Unit, delivery of your item has been delayed/damaged. We do recognise and apologise for the inconvenience caused to you by this unfortunate incident.

We are actively investigating the circumstances of this incident and it is also the subject of a Garda investigation. We assure you that the situation is being treated with the seriousness it deserves.

A man in his 30s has been arrested and questioned by gardaí about theft “contrary to contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 1997”.

The man has been released without charge but gardaí said their investigation was continuing.

A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will decide on whether a prosecution will be brought.

A spokeswoman for An Post said: “As you are aware, there is a Garda investigation underway into a mail-related matter in Fermoy so you will understand that we cannot comment on any aspect of this matter at this time. We apologise to any customer who has been impacted.” 

Affected customers were also provided with a contact number, as well as a link to An Post’s guide on resolving customers’ complaints.

The investigation comes at one at the busiest time of the year for An Post, with Thursday being the last day for posting cards and parcels before Christmas.