Derry mail dump scandal deepens as more discarded letters found on banks of River Foyle
Police have said they are liaising with Royal Mail after hundreds of letters were found discarded at the Mobuoy dump, with further mail later discovered on the banks of the River Foyle at Victoria Road.
SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan said a member of the public handed a bag containing hundreds of sensitive letters to his constituency office on Wednesday afternoon. The Foyle MLA added that he had been in contact with Royal Mail management and the PSNI, and said efforts must be made to ensure the letters reach their intended recipients.
Mr Durkan later revealed that even more discarded letters had been brought to his office after another member of the public came forward with mail that had been dumped at a different location, this time along the banks of the River Foyle at Victoria Road.
The Foyle MLA said: “This raises very serious questions: how widespread is this problem? how long has it been happening? how many people have been affected? and how much mail won't be recoverable?
“This is an absolute disgrace. People deserve answers. I await a response from Royal Mail.
“I also want to be clear that these despicable actions will impact the many hard-working Royal Mail staff on the frontline who should not be forgotten in all of this. Many postal workers go out every day, doing their very best to serve their communities, under increasingly difficult circumstances. They deserve better than to be let down by a broken system.”
The PSNI said that they are liaising with Royal Mail after the they received a report on Wednesday, November 4, in relation to the discovery of postal mail at a location in the area of Mobuoy Road in Derry
A spokesperson for the PSNI: “Follow-up enquiries by police led to the subsequent discovery and seizure of a further quantity of mail.
“Police enquiries are ongoing, and officers are liaising with Royal Mail in respect of the matter.”
Previously, in response to letters being dumped at Mobuoy a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident involving mail being discarded at Mobuoy and are currently investigating. Our teams will work to recover and process the items so they can be returned to the postal network and delivered to customers.”