London, Aug 15: The Daily Mail has published pictures of looters displaying their looted goods after last week's madness. London Police has released these pictures to nail the offenders.
Posing with their booty, a gang of masked looters brazenly show off what appears to be an array of stolen goods.
The armed gang, with their hoods up and their faces hidden by scarves, posed with boxes of trainers, laptop computers, plasma TVs, BlackBerrys and other electronic goods said to be worth about £3,000.
It is thought the items were seized from shops ransacked during last week's riots in Lewisham, south-east London, and, along with so many expensive goods stolen across the country, will be sold on for cash.
In the hope of receiving help from the public, police have released pictures of another alleged looter caught on camera last Sunday in Peckham, south London. The young dark-haired woman laughs as she makes off with several pairs of slippers and what looks like a bottle of alcohol.
Officers from Scotland Yard are keen to track her down, along with dozens of others pictured in the riots across the capital.
While at least part of the young woman's haul appears to be destined for domestic use, other thieves have wasted no time in trying to sell their spoils online.
Internet auction sites are awash with looted TVs, computer equipment and designer clothing.
Police suspect looters are trying to maximise their profits and get rid of incriminating goods as quickly as possible by turning to websites. But they face being traced and caught as police are tipped off by an army of angry computer users incensed by the mayhem of last week.
One seller offered a case of 40 state-of-the-art iPhone 4s on London's Craigslist site.
The wrapped and sealed handsets, which are worth around £500 each new, carried a price tag of £320 with a ‘discount' for purchases of three or more.
When one potential buyer asked if they had been stolen, the seller replied: ‘Mate I just come back from holiday. I bought them all from America' before the advert disappeared.
Offers of other desirable items, including iPads and laptops, at suspiciously low prices have appeared on other sites.
The auction site eBay, the world's biggest online seller, pledged to work with police and remove any listings linked to crime.
And the UK classifieds site Gumtree, which is owned by eBay, said it will do ‘everything we can' to help police bring criminals to justice.
Users can click a button which appears on every page to report suspicious transactions to website administrators.
An eBay spokesman said staff have been extra-vigilant since the looting last week.
‘Our thoughts are with the businesses and communities affected by recent events in London and around the UK – eBay will co-operate fully with the investigating authorities to identify and remove any listings which are linked to criminal activity.'
